‘Beginning of something glorious, the end of something beautiful’

Before this year, the Lake Stevens High School girls soccer team had recorded nine state berths dating back to 2000. Their highest finish was fourth place in 2005, but their next seven appearances resulted in five first-round and two quarterfinal exits.

However, being eliminated from the state tournament before the semifinals wasn’t an issue this season because the eighth-seeded Vikings not only beat ninth-seeded Richland 2-0 in the opening round, but they also upset two-time defending state champion and first-seeded Skyline 3-2 in the quarterfinals to put themselves two games away from their first state title, and at the very least, a guaranteed fourth-place trophy.

“We’ve set goals throughout the year, wanting to win Wesco, wanting to get to state. Making state has always been an aspiration for the team, but I’m not sure how much that was a realistic goal on our chart,” third-year coach Sam Ford said. “We go into districts, and we started competing with the better teams, and you realize exactly what you have as a team. There are no Wesco teams left in 3A or 4A, and that’s kind of typical. Wesco teams kind of take a licking when it comes to the Wesco-Kingco district tournament. And so now having competed with those teams and seeing where we are, we really feel like we have a realistic chance to do something pretty special.

Lake Stevens meets 13th-seeded Issaquah in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup in what is a rematch from last year after Issaquah eliminated the Vikings 3-2 in a District 1/2 4A winner-to-state, loser-out contest. But this season, Lake Stevens’ storyline is also different for a couple of reasons.

Rather than sharing the Wesco 4A title with Kamiak, as was the case last year, the Vikings claimed the league outright with an 11-0-1 conference record — their only tie being to the Knights 1-1 in early-October. Lake Stevens later beat Kamiak 2-0 in the second meeting of the season. The Vikings then advanced to the 4A District 1/2 Tournament and bested 10th-seeded Bothell 2-1 in the district quarterfinals before losing 2-1 to third-seeded Skyline in the semifinals. Lake Stevens moved on to beat 12th-seeded Lincoln (Seattle) to for a third-place tournament finish.

The Vikings can also nearly field a team of all seniors, most of whom swung in and out of varsity throughout the past few years, giving them veteran experience against upper-level Wesco and some non-conference programs. With 10 seniors, seven juniors and one sophomore this year, there are multiple positions with talented starters, substitutes and reserves.

“Our two captains (Olivia Fast and Charli Pugmire) are the two players who have played varsity all four years. The rest of them kind of have filled in as I started my career at Lake Stevens,” Ford said. “These seniors have played with each other a lot in a different context and on the same team, and so they have a very strong bond, even prior to high school soccer.

“In three years, this is kind of the core team that we’ve been able to shift a little bit when I came into a new kind of culture and new attitude of Lake Stevens soccer. And so they’re kind of the fruit of three years of labor. … And there’s still even core members of this team that will continue on next year that aren’t seniors. So I feel like we’ve been very patient in trying to develop over the last three years, and every year, making a little more step. And this year, it kind of all came together.”

Two players who will be returning next year are sisters Keira and Noelani Tupua. Both play forward, and Keira, a junior, and Noelani, a sophomore, each have contributed on offense this season.

In the Richland game, Noelani scored both goals, one with each foot. She netted her first score in the game’s first minute after she dribbled past defenders and slotted the ball into the right corner. Her second goal came in the second half as she released a shot that tapped the left post on its way in.

“I’m trusting my instincts, always trying to find an open player and have confidence in myself to take the shot and create opportunities for my teammates,” Noelani said. “Connecting more with my teammates (has been a highlight of the season). It’s been a joy, and they’re all so fun to be around. Winning Wesco and not being co-champions with Kamiak was definitely a big one. And then making state, I’m really proud of us.”

In the Skyline game, Noelani opened the scoring for Lake Stevens. She later drew a penalty kick in the second half but needed to be substituted out from the foul, so Keira scored the goal to put the Vikings up 2-1. After Skyline tied it 2-2, Keira then connected with senior midfielder Audrey McKenna on a corner kick in the final six minutes for the game-winning score.

“I don’t think we had the confidence in ourselves to make it this far, but now we’re doing some amazing things and playing the best teams in the state tournament,” Keira said. “Our captains do a very good job on directing the team in a way where we can stay calm underneath adversity, and we all just have a lot of trust in each other that we’re going to pick each other up and do our best until the final whistle.”

If the Vikings win against Issaquah on Friday, they’ll duel the winner of sixth-seeded Curtis and second-seeded Woodinville for the state title at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23.

“I hope my girls approach the game like it’s any other game, and it’s very difficult to do that. It’s going to be special in every sense, staying in hotels and traveling and all that stuff that goes with this kind of experience. But my hope is that they’ll stay calm. When my team is calm, they play very well,” Ford said. “We have playmakers. The Tupua sisters are certainly playmakers and some of the best players in the league and in our team. … I hope our awesome goalkeeper (junior Tessa Anastasi) makes the saves that she’s made all year. But really if the core of the team can just play their game and play unified, … then we won’t have to depend on some magic play to make sure we win.

“But essentially, we had a successful season,” he continued. “I tell the girls often, ‘Every one of these games we reach, it’s either the beginning of something glorious or the end of something beautiful.’ And so either way, it’s a win for us.”