Nelson lifts Archbishop Murphy to victory

EVERETT — The Archbishop Murphy girls soccer team needed someone to step up when senior co-captain and leading scorer Andrea Gaitan had to leave in the first half of last week’s game against King’s after a violent collision with the Knights’ goalkeeper.

Junior Emma Nelson filled the role to perfection, scoring a pair of goals late in the second half, as the Wildcats rallied for a 2-1 victory over King’s in a Cascade Conference contest Oct. 5 at Archbishop Murphy High School.

“It was really rewarding,” Nelson said of the Wildcats’ second straight victory over the Knights. “We just wanted to win it for Andrea.”

Gaitan did not return to the game due to a shoulder injury sustained in the mishap.

Archbishop Murphy coach Pat Jack decided at halftime to move Nelson from the midfield to forward to replace Gaitan and to use a three-forward attack in an effort to add a little more punch to the Wildcats’ offensive attack.

Twenty minutes into the second half the changes started to work.

“The first part (of the second half) was pretty much the same,” Jack said. “Then about the last 20 minutes they seemed to start to mesh better. They seemed to start passing the ball better to each other. … We had a lot of good chances. We finally got a couple in.”

Laura Gifford gave King’s a 1-0 lead on a header 12 minutes into the first half.

Nelson tied the score at 1 off an assist by Melissa VonderHofen at the 63rd minute. The goal energized the Wildcats and Nelson gave Archbishop Murphy the lead 12 minutes later via a pass from Brittany Allen.

“Sometimes we start a little slow,” Nelson said. “We get a goal and a lot of adrenalin (comes). That really helps us. … We were beginning to feel comfortable in the game.”

The Wildcats didn’t seem to be too comfortable in a first half that saw the Knights control much of the action.

King’s likes to play the ball up the air with headers and long kicks, which is not Archbishop Murphy’s preferred style of play. The Wildcats are more comfortable with quick passes and keeping the ball on the ground.

“We had trouble settling the ball,” Jack said. “We started doing the same kick back and forth thing that they do. That’s not our best. We work best when it’s flat on the ground and we have good passes. We kind of got off our stride.”

It took a while for Archbishop Murphy to get back to its style of play.

“I think we kind of panicked a little bit and in the second half we did a better job of keeping our composure and playing a style that benefits us — keeping possession and keeping it on the ground,” Nelson said.

Even though King’s is a first-year program, the Knights have two former Meadowdale players (Gifford and junior Lauren Thompson) and several talented freshmen. The Wildcats defeated the Knights 3-2 earlier this season.

“They’re very good,” Nelson said. “We look forward to playing them. We know it’s going to be a tough game and fun to watch. … They’re all really good. They work well together. They’re very quick is what I noticed about them.”

Archbishop Murphy’s mental toughness, especially in the second half, was instrumental in the Wildcats’ comeback, Gifford said.

“They’re aggressive at winning balls every time,” she added. “They were not giving up. They were down for a while, but they kept pressing.”

Thus far the Wildcats have been able to overcome some major injuries this season. Archbishop Murphy has had to turn to its No. 4 goalkeeper, sophomore Sara Carratt, after a series of injuries sidelined the first three goalies.

“Sarah has been doing a great job for us,” Jack said. “She’s gotten better and better each game. … She’s come through like a trooper.”

Nelson is dealing with a foot injury that has forced Jack to limit her play. The King’s game was the first time this season that Nelson has been able to play the entire 80 minutes. Prior to Thursday’s game, Nelson had averaged anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes a game.

“She seems to be playing quite well,” said Jack, who added that Nelson probably still isn’t 100 percent.