SHORELINE — The Archbishop Murphy girls soccer team arrived at Shoreline Stadium on Sept. 17 knowing they were facing Shorecrest, the 2023 Class 3A state runners-up and team they had lost against 2-1 the past two seasons.
But that didn’t intimidate the Wildcats (4-0 overall, 2-0 league) on Tuesday night as they downed the Scots 1-0, handing Shorecrest (2-2, 0-2) their second consecutive Wesco 3A/2A south loss.
After a scoreless first half, Archbishop Murphy senior midfielder and co-captain Chloe McCoy broke the ice five minutes into the second half after intercepting a bad clearance by the Scots’ defense. McCoy cushioned the soccer ball, dribbled to her right a few paces and released a right-footed shot from about 25 yards out that curled over Shorecrest senior goalkeeper Kylee Mitchell’s hands and dropped into the back of the net.
The Wildcats compete in 2A and Scots in 3A, but the number of momentum swings and multiple scoring opportunities for both teams made it feel like a rivalry matchup. Archbishop Murphy junior goalkeeper Elle Kahn and her defense did enough to close down and interrupt the Scots’ offensive schemes several times during the contest, earning them their fourth shutout this season.
“Working together is a big thing for us because last year we obviously didn’t get where we wanted to get,” McCoy said. “And this year we wanted to be big on working together and just being a team because we know we’re not going to get anywhere without each other.
“(Tonight’s success stemmed from) being able to work together and play with each other and get those combinations and find those through balls,” McCoy added. “We kept hammering, and then they just kind of gave in at the end.”
Archbishop Murphy has scored 13 goals and conceded zero through four games, which is a good buildup to a possible long postseason run. The Wildcats were Class 2A District 1 and state champions in 2021 but haven’t been able to make the jump from district to state since, tallying losses to Sehome and Lynden in consolation games in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
“There was no need to pump my team up in any way because they really look forward to playing Shorecrest,” said Archbishop Murphy coach Mike Bartley about his team’s preparation. “They got quality coaches, quality players, and they play really hard. So there was no hype needed at all.
“The first three games, what we’ve been working on hard is the midfield three and them to have some continuity. And as they’ve gotten better, we’ve gotten better,” Bartley continued. “Ari (Sullivan), Chloe and Laura (Anderson) just really dealt with that because they knew coming in (Shorecrest’s) midfield three was their engine. We knew we had to take care of that. … I think the biggest thing for us is we try to be dynamic in how we attack so that no one can really figure out how we attack.”
For Shorecrest, having lost the first two league games is not common, given the Scots tallied nine league wins before they lost one last season, concluding the year with a 12-3 league record. Shorecrest had seven seniors last season but increased to 10 this year, creating a lineup filled with veteran experience. The Scots, who were 2022 Class 3A District 1 champions and 2023 runners-up, look to make another deep postseason run.
“I like playing Archbishop Murphy. It’s always a really well-fought battle,” said Shorecrest coach Mindy Dalziel. “We know and we respect them that they’re going to be able to play and put balls on frames. I liked the way we played. I felt like we played better form of soccer today — we just couldn’t find the back of the net. … I very much prefer being able to keep possession and knock the ball and not have to chase so much, and we are very capable of continuing to do that. But now we need to work in getting into the final third and getting productive.
“This is year 25 for me as a coach, and I can say that I have felt pressure every year,” said Dalziel about the Scots’ postseason success the past few years. “It’s the name. People recognize Shorecrest, and we’ve done really well. … I think underlyingly the pressure is definitely there. I’m trying not to focus on it, and I’m trying to take it away from the team. But when you have a team full of 10 seniors, and they were on the team last year, they know it’s there. … Our goal is to establish who we are this year. ‘What kind of team are going to be this year for this season?’ … I saw a lot of growth today, and I saw little things that I’m like, ‘OK. We just need to hang onto that, and now we need to add onto it.’”
Archbishop Murphy faces Lynnwood and Shorecrest battles Lake Stevens on Thursday.
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