UNIVERSITY PLACE — Eighteen anxious, underage boys huddle around a suspicious-looking duffel bag.
Their faces flushed enough to match their red shirts, their sweat freezing the instant it escapes their pores, the curious boys watch one of their own kneel and then unzip the mysterious bag.
"Is it champagne?" one of them asks.
"Nah," another with inside information and bottle in hand replies, "sparkling cider."
And so the party began after the Archbishop Murphy High School boys soccer team captured the Class A/B state championship with a 2-1 victory Saturday night over Charles Wright at Curtis High School.
Forward Chris Danford scored two goals on headers, both on assists from Alex Ferris, as the Wildcats (18-1-1 overall) rallied from a 1-0 deficit to stop Charles Wright (16-5).
"It’s great, it feels great," said Danford, who headed in the game-winning goal with about 12 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the second half. "I had no clue I could do that. People said I was 5 or 6 yards off the ground."
While the sparkling cider may have impaired Danford’s aerial estimate, there is no doubt the two goals were the biggest of his life.
"To score two in one night," he said, "especially in the state championship game, that’s insane."
A large following of Archbishop Murphy students and athletes helped the boys celebrate. The football team stopped by after its own playoff victory Saturday afternoon in Puyallup and most of the girls soccer team and coaching staff stayed for the celebration.
"I’m glad the guys won," said Kat Taylor, who played well in the Wildcats’ 1-0 state finals loss to Cedar Park Christian earlier Saturday. "At least one of us brought a title home."
The girls game paired two evenly matched squads, but star forward Sarah Martinez stole the ball deep in the Wildcats’ penalty box and knocked home the winning goal with 15:02 remaining. The Eagles (18-1-1) withstood a late attack by Archbishop Murphy (16-1-3) to win their third consecutive state championship.
"It’s unfortunate," Danford said of the Archbishop Murphy girls’ second-place finish. "They played great."
For a moment, it seemed the Archbishop Murphy boys might be headed for a runnerup trophy, too.
After Wildcats goalkeeper Alex Ungs dived to stop one shot, Charles Wright midfielder Shane Drew pounced on the rebound and scored to give the Tarriers a 1-0 lead with 14:53 remaining in the first half.
Instead of dwelling on the play, Archbishop Murphy countered quickly.
The Wildcats worked the ball to the right sideline within 25 yards of the Charles Wright net. Ferris arched a solid crossing pass to the middle of the penalty box, where Danford waited, leaped and ignited his team with one swift header that tied the score 1-1.
"That’s a huge momentum shift," Archbishop Murphy coach Jon Echols said. "We always tell them to work really hard after a goal, whether we scored it or they did."
Much like Friday night’s semifinal, which the Wildcats won 1-0 against Seattle Christian on Jon Jensen’s header, Echols had a hunch.
"Seattle Christian was very dominating in the air," he said, "but we knew we could do better in the air this game."
Echols also knew the Wildcats had to stop Charles Wright’s star scorer, forward Eric Anton. Archbishop midfielder John Feltner handled the task admirably, Echols said.
Goalie Ungs, a sophomore, also played a vital role, making four saves, including a stellar one-on-one stop just eight minutes into the game.
"If we wouldn’t have had such a great goalie," Danford said, "we wouldn’t have made it here."
The Archbishop girls made it all the way, too, but they could not muster much offense against the powerful Eagles, who outshot the Wildcats 14-8, including 10-2 in the second half. The Wildcats tied Cedar Park 2-2 on Sept. 12 and lost to the Eagles 2-1 in a 5-4 shootout loss in the semifinals last season.
The remarkable season did not end as they had dreamed, but Archbishop coaches and players fought back sour emotions to reflect on the big picture.
"I’m just so proud of my girls," head coach Pat Jack said. "It was an excellent season. They played their very best."
Cedar Park’s defense put the clamps on leading-scorer Taylor and the rest of Archbishop Murphy’s forwards, but the Wildcats’ defense — particularly goalie Alicia Bourke, who made eight saves — played very well, Jack said.
Caitlin Warnock, one of five seniors, admitted the loss stung but explained what made this year special.
"I think we really bonded as a team," she said. "I personally made a lot of new friends."
And while winning surely accelerated the team’s bonding, "Even when you lose together," Warnock added, "the crying brings you together."
Goals—Archbishop Murphy: Danford 2. Charles Wright: Drew. Goalkeepers—Archbishop Murphy: Ungs. Charles Wright: Sowell. Records—Archbishop Murphy 18-1-1. Charles Wright 16-5. Goals—Cedar Park Christian: Martinez. Goalkeepers—Archbishop Murphy: Bourke. Cedar Park Christian: Lee. Records—Archbishop Murphy 16-1-3 overall. Cedar Park Christian 18-1-1. |
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