Archbishop Murphy aims to finish strong

Archbishop Murphy is playing some of its best soccer as the regular season winds down.

The Wildcats posted victories over Cascade Conference opponents Coupeville and Lakewood and then wrapped up the week with a 3-0 win over non-conference opponent Eastside Catholic on Oct. 17.

“We just seemed to be able to play the ball well,” Archbishop Murphy coach Dick Henderson said. “We seemed to move well with the ball. I think we played a really clean, fast-paced game of soccer that was really on the ground more than a ball in the air and just chasing it. We went forward, but it wasn’t the ball over the top of people. We created a lot of scoring chances.”

Senior forward Sam Pettinger scored two goals and junior forward Caroline Brawner had the other. Pettinger has a team high 16 goals along with 10 assists, while Brawner had 13 goals and seven assists.

Pettinger spends the offseason focusing on her main sport – basketball. She used to play club soccer but has only played high school soccer the last two years.

“She just has a lot of athleticism,” Henderson said. “She has good size, good speed and has an uncanny knack for offense.”

Teammate Lindsey Bos, who is headed to the University of Washington, has 12 goals and 15 assists. Bos had one of the two assists in Archbishop Murphy’s 2-0 victory over Lakewood on Oct. 15. Both goals were scored by sophomore forward Tasha Pabisz with the other assist by sophomore midfielder Kelly Gould.

Pabisz came off the bench the first part of the season but is seeing more action now.

“She’s very fast,” Henderson said. “She’s a little smaller and gets banged around by big defenders. She seems to be able to hold her own better than her freshman year.”

While Pettinger and Brawner have more goals than Bos, the senior midfielder is in many ways the engine that drives the Wildcats.

“She’s so good at controlling the midfield,” Henderson said. “She can really take over a game … Her play can take her and our team to another level.”

Bos excels not only on the offensive end of the field but she also is one of the team’s best defensive players.

“She just wins and controls the ball,” Henderson said.

Bos’ talent is well-known throughout the league and she is usually marked and always tracked by the opposition.

When Bos is not playing Henderson notices a difference.

“When she comes back you can see the whole level pick up,” Henderson said.

Henderson also notices the same sort of effect when Brawner and senior defender Alli Beard leave and then re-enter the game.

Archbishop Murphy opened last week with a 5-0 victory over Coupeville on Oct. 13. Five different players scored goals.

The Wildcats are scheduled to wrap up the season with games against Cedarcrest (Tuesday), South Whidbey (Thursday) and King’s (Saturday).

That means Archbishop Murphy will have played six games in 12 days.

“We’re pretty lucky in the sense that we have quite a bit of depth,” Henderson said.

Henderson kept several players on varsity who might have swung between the junior varsity and varsity squad. The roster numbers 20 players, which is more than usual.

“They’ve gotten playing time,” Henderson said.

For the last month, the Wildcats have had from three to five players out for a variety of reasons.

“Our reserves’ depth and quality has really helped us,” Henderson said.

Having so many good players is proving to be a challenge for Henderson. He really has not settled on a set lineup. Instead the lineup has been dictated to some extent by the opponent was.

“We’re trying to stay healthy and get healthy,” Henderson said. “We also want to try to maintain the high level of play so we can carry that into the playoffs.”