The Mount Si soccer team certainly had a year of it in 1999,

somewhat mitigated by the end-of-season blowout of arch-rival

Cedarcrest. However, last week’s news that a grand total of six players had

been named to the all-KingCo 3A team undoubtedly perked up a lot of

spirits.

The honorees were senior Laura Fletcher, who was named to the

first team; seniors Heather Breitenbach and Jessii Raisio; junior Moriah

Hover; and freshmen Angela Jones and Nicci Landdeck, all awarded

honorable mentions.

According to coach Bruce Caldwell, the seniors will be

missed on the field next year, but the skills and savvy of the younger players

bode well for the `Cats.

“Laura has played real solid for four years,” said Caldwell in an

interview Monday. “She was probably the anchor in all our defense this year.

I don’t think she has selected a college yet, but she will be playing

somewhere, probably WSU.”

The coach added that Breitenbach was given an honorable mention

for both her midfield and goal keeping skills.

“She has been a really versatile player,” he commented. “This year

the design for her was to have her play on the field, but Amber Schneider got

hurt and Heather had to fill in at goal.

“Jessii’s also played four years of solid varsity soccer for us, and is

another talent that’s going to be missed on next year’s team. She’s a

very strong player.”

Caldwell pointed out Raisio missed a chunk of the season due

to injury, but returned in time to contribute to Mount Si’s strong finish.

As for the junior, Hover, the coach rated her as “a leader on defense

for us next year” who will have strong backing from the younger players.

“Nicci and Angela are both freshmen, but certainly were capable

of playing at the varsity level, and were recognized throughout the league

for being able to do that,” he said, adding that both played in several

positions. “Nicci ended up at a defensive

spot, which might be her strongest area. She just naturally fit in there.

“Angela was in a marking position for us in a couple of games,”

said Caldwell, referring to a player who keys on a specific player on the

opposing team. “She was a freshman starting for us and had to mark up

a Redmond player who was just remarkable.

“She said she couldn’t even turn her head or the other player would

be gone,” he added with a chuckle. “It was a real initiation for her.”

Caldwell said the 1999 season lent itself to having freshmen on the

team. Therefore, the prospects for next year are bright.

“They’ll just get stronger and stronger,” he concluded.