SNOQUALMIE _ Despite going 3-12 last year, the Mount Si girls’

soccer team is more popular than ever, with 90 girls showing up for

tryouts this year. And even with varsity, junior-varsity and “C” squads,

coach Bruce Caldwell is having a hard time making sure as many of his

talented players as possible see some action on the field.

Eighteen players are suiting up for varsity games, the maximum

number allowed. With 14 returning players on the varsity squad, eight of them

seniors, juggling the substitutions can be a challenge.

“Eighteen is an incredible number to work with,” said Caldwell, who

is in his 13th year as coach. “I’m suiting up 18 because I want to give

them some varsity time this year, if I can. And there may be more that

really deserve a look.”

Of the 90 who attended the tryouts, 35 were freshmen. Reducing

that number to 53 players for the three squads wasn’t easy, Caldwell said.

“A lot of them were very good soccer players. It made it very difficult

to reduce the size,” he said.

A good indication of the future of the team is its youth.

“Out of the 53 players we have, about 38 of them are sophomores

and freshmen,” he said.

The Wildcats finished last year on a positive note, beating Cedarcrest

5-0. Cedarcrest had beaten them earlier in the season.

Caldwell expects his team to be vastly improved, and it showed

promise during two preseason games, beating Hazen 6-0 and losing to

Highline 1-0, both at home. However the competition in KingCo 3A is always fierce.

“KingCo is always tough,” he said. “You’ve always got the Newports

and Mercer Island. Liberty is going to be tough again this year. Cedarcrest

has a good shot, I think, too.”

In practice, Caldwell has stressed ball control, and the efforts his

girls are putting into it have paid off.

“What we proved so far in a couple of preseason games is we’re able

to move the ball around, and that’s pretty exciting,” he said. Controlling the

ball also leads to a more potent offense.

“We averaged about 15 shots in each game in preseason,” he said.

And even with his young talent, the team is learning rapidly.

“They’ve come a long way, considering the youth that’s on the

team. The sophomores are doing really well,” he said.

“If we keep getting the shots that we’ve had in the preseason, then

we’ll score. They’ll know what it is to move the ball around, and their desire

will increase.”