King’s made it to the state 1A girls soccer semifinals in the first two years of the program but left without making it to the title game.
Last year, King’s placed fourth after losing to Meridian 1-0 in the seminfinals and Seattle Christian 3-1 in the third-place game.
Eight starters return for the Knights as they try to make another run this fall. But the focus is different and the team is more solid all-around, third-year coach Nicole Gabelein said.
The Knights have more specific things they are working on rather than relying so much on their talent, Gabelein said.
“Now we’re taking baby steps to get there,” she said. “It’s not something you get because you have a talented squad. We’re working a little bit on the here and now we’re not talking about district and state at this point.”
King’s strength is its defense led by junior all-conference center defender Hillary Quinn, sophomore Emily Fretland, senior Ashley Roe and sophomore Alyssa Rochford. Quinn’s freshman sister, Isabelle, also will help in the back.
Juniors Carolyn Dapper and Maddy McDevitt, both who have played on Olympic Development teams, share the goalkeeping duties.
The midfield is led by senior center midfielder Kendall Thoreson, an all-conference player, who leads the team in assists. She is joined in the center by freshman Taylor Hauck. On the outside are junior Paige Johnson, sophomore Christina McCormick and freshman Kelsey Christianson.
The forwards include leading scorer junior Hillary Zevenbergen, who is back after battling a stress fracture in her shin last year, and junior Julia Crosby.
“The offense is doing real well,” Gabelein said. “We haven’t really focused on it to be honest.”
Gabelein said King’s has a lot of work to do on the field, but there are few holes in the lineup and the team is “very solid” position-by-position.
Team chemistry continues to improve as the team enters its third season together.
“They’re a very, very cohesive group of girls, the most I’ve seen since the program started,” Gabelein said. “Things are falling into place.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
