The magic runs out

The Mount Si Wildcats girls' soccer team battled to get to the Nov. 8 first-round state 3A playoff game against former rival Kennedy.

The Mount Si Wildcats girls’ soccer team battled to get to the Nov. 8 first-round state 3A playoff game against former rival Kennedy. They won three straight loser-out games to clinch the state berth and on the way there, suffered the loss of senior star Amy Torget, who tore her knee in the state-clinching win over Holy Names. They then, like everyone else in the Valley, endured one of the worst floods this area has seen in a long time.

They gave it their all, but the Wildcats finally met their match last Wednesday. The Lancers used a strong second-half effort to come from behind and defeat Mount Si 2-1 at Highline Stadium, ending the Wildcats’ season.

Coach Darren Brown was stunned. “We played well in the first half. I thought we were really the better team. I thought that talent for talent, we were ready for this game and I thought we had them right where we wanted them,” Brown said. The coach was not the only one stunned at the end result; the entire team was as well, and it was a very emotional scene on the Mount Si side after the game’s conclusion.

Things started out great for Mount Si as Nikki Stanton fired a slow shot past the Kennedy goalkeeper in the fifth minute that put the Wildcats on top. The Lancers, however, used that as motivation. Their defense quickly toughened up, limiting the Wildcat offensive attack. Mount Si had their chances, but could not put another one in.

The Wildcat defense stood tall and prevented Kennedy from getting much going themselves offensively. Mount Si took a 1-0 lead into halftime having played one of the better halves of soccer they’ve played all year, but there was one more half to go.

The Lancers came out strong in the second half, continuing to play tough defense. As for the Wildcats, the strong first half became a thing of the past as they could not maintain that level of play in the second half. Kennedy used a tough defense to create great offensive chances, and it finally resulted in a goal in the 57th minute to tie the contest at 1-1. Despite the best efforts of Mount Si, the Lancers only got tougher and in the 66th minute, Kennedy scored again off a deflection in front of Wildcat goalkeeper Jessica Blessard, and the Lancers were in front.

Kennedy kept up the pressure and closed out Mount Si the rest of the way. The Wildcats’ season ended at 14-5-1, which is a great record despite the tough loss to end it.

There will be several key senior losses: the front line scoring of Jessica Oliver and Torget, the speed and physical play of Monica Nelson, the role playing of Susan Nielson, the goalkeeping of Blessard and the bench leadership of Becky Wada. Those losses will mean a slightly younger, maybe less deep group next year than the one this season, but Mount Si should be just as strong with the return of Stanton and Mariana Zanella among others. A 12-2-2 junior-varsity record this season means there should be no shortage of possibilities among talent at that level to replace this year’s varsity losses in 2007.

“We’ll be back. We’ll build on this. It’s part of the learning process, learning how close you are to being a champion and these girls are tough,” Brown said.