Lake Stevens girls soccer claims first state title

PUYALLUP — Lake Stevens High School girls soccer coach Sam Ford looked at his watch multiple times in the final two minutes of the Class 4A state title game as he awaited the sound of the whistle with the scoreboard displaying 78 minutes and a 1-0 lead in his team’s favor.

His eighth-seeded Vikings were on the verge of upsetting second-seeded Woodinville and one whistle tweet away from clinching their first state title in program history.

After Lake Stevens defended three consecutive corner kicks in the last minute of the game and the referee blew the whistle for the final time, Ford hugged his staff, and all the Vikings players rushed to hug each other and celebrate one of the most historic accomplishments for their school.

The victory marked Lake Stevens’ fifth consecutive win and capped off a season that included a 19-1-2 overall record and was preceded by a Wesco 4A title and third-place district finish. En route to the state trophy, the Vikings hurdled difficult opponents, including ninth-seeded Richland in the first round, two-time defending state champion and first-seeded Skyline in the quarterfinals and No. 13 Issaquah in the semifinals. Lake Stevens got revenge over Skyline, which defeated the Vikings in districts, and they got payback over Issaquah, which eliminated them from receiving a state berth last season.

“Our defense won the game for us,” Ford said. “Woodinville assaulted us with everything they had. I think Tessa Anastasi was MVP in the semifinal, she probably should be MVP in this final. She put on an all-star performance that really saved our bacon. But our defense is what’s really been the strength of our team. We’ve got playmakers, we’ve got goal scorers. But our defense is what keeps you in 1-0, 2-1 games. The last 10 minutes, it’s a little bit of a blur in those moments because you’re so excited (and) counting the minutes. … The girls left everything they had on the field, and they beat a lot of odds.

“It’s a privilege and honor to coach this team. I’ve coached other schools, but this team is special,” he continued. “I feel very honored to have led the first boys or girls soccer team to a state title. This was a far-off goal, but it became more and more real.”

Lake Stevens sophomore forward Noelani Tupua once again used her dribbling and shooting abilities to gain space from a defender, and she placed a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner of the goal in the 18th minute for the contest’s only score. Junior goalkeeper Tessa Anastasi was a brick wall in between the posts, tallying several possible goal-scoring saves and her third shutout of the tournament.

“My teammates were giving me feedback about the goalkeeper and how she would want it high, so I just knew I had to shoot low and hit the corners,” Tupua said. “I’m speechless (about Anastasi’s performance). I am so proud of her. There’s times where she’ll get down on herself, but I think her mentality has definitely shifted. Nothing is getting past her.”

Junior forward Keira Tupua nearly scored the first goal about five minutes into the game when she dribbled from her team’s side of the field to Woodinville’s net, but her shot ricocheted off the crossbar.

About eight minutes later, Anastasi recorded a save with her leg to deny a Falcons’ cross and shot inside the 18-yard box. Woodinville junior Zoey Lavezzi struck a shot two minutes later that Anastasi saved, and 10 minutes before halftime, Anastasi got her hands to a ball that was delivered from a strike inside the box.

“I’m so excited and a little shocked still. It doesn’t feel real,” Anastasi said. “I just want to thank my defense. It couldn’t have happened without them. And I’m so thankful for this opportunity that we made it this far. … I remember in the beginning of the year, our coach told us that he thinks we could be state champs, and we took it all the way, and we executed perfectly, and it’s just such a blessing. All of the coaching staff, I’m thankful for all of them because they really helped us the whole year.”

Woodinville had more chances to score in the second half as it kept pushing Lake Stevens into its side of the field. Freshman Caitlin Chapko rocketed a shot that struck the crossbar in the 45th minute, and Anastasi denied another offensive scheme when she put her outstretched hands on the ball to halt a cross arriving on the ground into the box three minutes after. She then saved another cross into the box around the 56th minute, which was followed by another play where she was able to get enough of a hand to block a shot in the 68th minute that Woodinville players, coaches and fans appealed for a game-tying goal.

Luck also wasn’t on the Falcons’ side in the 64th minute when Anastasi couldn’t reach high enough to stop the ball, but the shot was just high enough to tap the crossbar and fall away from goal. Anastasi would then comfortably save a free kick in the final 10 minutes of the game, which led to her defense stopping three corner kicks.

“I feel like Skyline and Woodinville were very similar,” Ford said. “They’ve got a couple goal scorers, and we knew the patterns that they play. They’re very consistent, and we tried to stop goals, which we were successful at. And as long as your goalkeeper has an all-star game, then you can win. … Kingco teams all play a very similar game, and ours is a little scrappy, a little more dynamic. … I don’t think (Kingco programs) face teams like us very often, so I hope we’ve started something for Wesco to make a name for themselves.”

Entering this season, the Vikings’ last state berth was in 2019, and they lost to Union in the first round. The highest program finish was fourth place in 2005, but with 10 seniors this year, having new hardware in the trophy case and a new banner draped in the gymnasium will be something they’ll never forget.

“Tonight you saw the grit of our team,” Ford said. “This was a game we had to gut out. We had to defend most of the game. It wasn’t the expectation, but that’s how it unfolded. And you saw the core and the heart of what these girls are. But hopefully what makes Lake Stevens soccer is we never give up, never give in. … These 10 seniors are a special group. They have, in three years time, left a legacy, changed the culture at Lake Stevens. And my hope is their fingerprints will be on what we continue to do in the next couple years.”