UNIVERSITY PLACE – Before today Archbishop Murphy High School had never reached a state championship soccer game. By tonight, it could own a pair of titles.
Playing back-to-back games for the third consecutive week, the girls and boys broke new ground on the turf at Curtis High School in University Place, just a few miles west of Tacoma.
First, midfielder Kat Taylor scored her team-high 43rd goal with less than 12 minutes remaining in the second half as the Lady Wildcats rallied from a 2-1 deficit to edge the Charles Wright Tarriers 3-2 in the girls A/B state semifinal.
Then the boys broke up an aggressive defensive battle when midfielder Jon Jensen knocked in a header with 9:10 remaining and the Wildcats hung on for a 1-0 shutout triumph over the Seattle Christian Warriors in the boys semifinal.
The girls (16-0-3 overall) play the Cedar Park Christian-Liberty Bell winner for all the marbles at 2 p.m. today back at Curtis High. That’s also where the Murphy boys (17-1-1) return for a 4 p.m. title game against the Charles Wright-Trout Lake winner.
The two Wildcats teams have kept pace with each other all the way to the pinnacle. “It’s a good rhythm,” said Taylor, who piled up 10 of’s 21 shots in the game. “I hope that we both get it (a state championship).”
“It’s awesome,” Jensen said of both teams earning a chance to win a state title. “This makes it that much sweeter.”
Helping five senior teammates finish in style is also important, said Taylor, a junior. “We all wanted to help them achieve their goal…It’s so amazing.”
Jensen has known many of his six fellow seniors since grade school. They dreamt about this moment. After winning the first boys state semifinal game in school history, everything is within their grasp.
“We’ve been talking about this since freshman year. This is everything for us.”
Trying to relax after two nail-biters, the Archbishop Murphy coaches shared their excitement – and relief.
After placing third the last two years, the girls fought hard to make school history. “It’s kind of like, “Phew!’ Thank goodness! What a relief,” girls coach Pat Jack said of the stressful but rewarding victory.
Taylor scored the game-winner after beating a defender with some nifty dribbling. Her shot from about 20 yards rose fast and sailed true.
“I knew that we had to push it,” Taylor said of the play, which began when teammate Brenna Rice dropped a long pass near the front of the box. “I tried to keep my touches close, and it worked.”
Taylor and freshman striker Andrea Gaitan faced double teams all afternoon, but Taylor broke free several times and connected on the play of the game.
Charles Wright (15-3-1) staked a 2-1 lead when Kate Drew scored off of an assist from Katherine Furman with 28:17 remaining in the game. Archbishop Murphy kept plugging away and finally tied the score eight minutes later when Adrienne Mequet’s low shot from 15 yards out deep in the right corner eluded Charles Wright goalkeeper Natalie Able at the near post.
Despite dominating play in the first half, the Lady Cats were tied 1-1 at halftime. Senior Caitlin Warnock’s goal from about 10 yards out in the middle of the goalie box in the 25th minute gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. But less than seven minutes later Adrienne Folsom of Charles Wright tapped in a rebound to tie the score.
The boys semifinal had less scoring but plenty of drama. Archbishop Murphy’s eventual achievement also literally moved head coach Jon Echols.
“I’m just shaking right now,” he said. “This is a wonderful group of guys.”
Jensen’s goal came off of a corner kick. The tall defender spotted a loose ball flying towards him, timed his jump and delivered a laser-accurate header to the upper right corner of the net.
“I felt like there was an opening there,” he said. “I just turned and got position and it went in.”
Just before Jensen’s game-winning goal, Echols had a premonition.
“I was just saying we should get the ball to (Jensen),” said Echols, who noticed Seattle Christian goalie Kyle Wall had been cheating toward the far post. As the scoring play developed, Echols saw his hunch materialize.
“It just happened to work out,” Echols said. “Amazing.”
Also amazing was’s unexpected shutout of Seattle Christian, which tied the Wildcats 4-4 on Sept. 15. Echols complimented Murphy goalkeeper Alex Ungs, a sophomore who made nine saves in the game, including several huge stops on Seattle Christian (13-1-1) shots to preserve the victory.
“He is a very solid goalkeeper,” Echols said. “He’s very athletic.”
As the final seconds ticked away, Ungs punched the ball out of harm’s way and set up’s opportunity of a lifetime.
Goals-Archbishop Murphy: Warnock, Mequet, Taylor. Charles Wright: Folsom, Drew. Goalkeepers-Archbishop Murphy: Bourke. Charles Wright: Abel. Records-Archbishop Murphy 16-0-3 overall. Charles Wrght 15-3-1. Goals-Archbishop Murphy: Jensen. Goalkeepers-Archbishop Murphy: Ungs. Seattle Christian: Jacobs, Wall. Records-Archbishop Murphy: 17-1-1. Seattle Christian 13-1-1. |
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