Last spring the Archbishop Murphy boys soccer team surprised some by sharing the Cascade Conference title with King’s and placing fourth in the Class 2A state tournament.
This spring, nine starters return off that team. Don’t expect the Wildcats to surprise anybody.
“Last year I think our team snuck up on a few people,” second-year coach Eddie Fernandez said. “This is a new year and a new team. I don’t think we’re going to be able to sneak up on people.”
The Wildcats finished 13-3 in the conference year and hope to match or exceed that performance in a league known for its parity and its high quality coaches. Fernandez expects the Wildcats to get everyone’s best shot.
“It’s our job to match that intensity that the other team is bringing,” he said.
The Wildcats started this season out 3-0 in league play before losing in a shootout at home to rival Lakewood 2-1 on April 1.
“It’s a good early lesson we look to build on,” Fernandez said of the loss to Lakewood. “It’s good to know that the league is full of teams that are competitive. There are no games you can ease into. You have to be prepared for every game.”
The Wildcats graduated eight off last year’s team and return a total of 12 players, led by three senior co-captains.
Senior Doug Ehlebracht returns at goalkeeper, senior Erik Schmidt holds down the center midfield while senior Matt Leen moves from the midfield to anchor the defense at the sweeper position.
Also returning to the starting lineup are senior forward Erik McCaughan, junior forward Alexis Magana, junior midfielder Sean Ryan, senior outside defender Jacob Clark, senior outside defender Jamie Steinman and sophomore defender Aiden Huggins.
Speedy junior Matt Friar, who missed last season because of a knee injury, is back and has scored three goals so far this season. Sophomore Alex Kramer plays multiple roles in the midfield and defense and has an infectious work ethic, Fernandez said. Sophomore Riley Raynor is healthy again and is another asset in the midfield.
The Wildcats will start out games with a four-defender, four-midfielder, two-forward lineup but adjustments will made depending on the opponent and the circumstances of the game, Fernandez said.
“We like to keep possession, if we can,” Fernandez said. “We’re able to adjust to the surface whether it be field turf or a grass field.”
The Wildcats lost its opener to Bellingham, blew out Granite Falls 8-0 and then beat Coupeville and Sultan each by a goal. Fernandez called the wins “hard-fought,” and he hopes his team can continue that early season success. After games at Cedarcrest and South Whidbey, who are atop the league with the Wildcats in the early standings, the Wildcats host King’s on April 8.
Fernandez hopes his team continues to learn lessons from every game.
“There’s a lot of parity,” he said. “There’s a lot of back and forth. It’s still early on and teams are getting to know themselves.”
Previous teams won Class 1A titles in 1994 and 2003 and finished second in Class 2A in 2006. This team hopes to build on what they did last year and reach the heights those squads did.
“We got a long ways to go and the boys understand that,” Fernandez said.
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