Evergreen Lutheran loses, but still stands tall in league
Tue, 10/23/2007
Nothing but good things for the Evergreen Lutheran girls soccer team, who beat all their competition in the Sea-Tac 'B' League and will now head off to the playoffs for district competition starting at a determined time after the season completes and all things are sorted out.
An 11 win, four loss and one tie record final was the Eagles, which is better than last year's 9-8 mark. Hopefully, unlike last year, this year's team will make it past playing just one and out in districts.
"We have had a really good season," said head coach Stan Cole. "We beat the 'B' schools in our league but lost to the bigger 'A' schools."
The team lost it's final regular season game to 'A' school Cedar Park Christian, on a goal scored by the foe in the final minute of the 80 minute game, separated by two 40- minute halves. It was a game that the Eagles controlled in the first half pretty handily, but had a hard time scoring.
"We dominated the first half," said Grace Lorette, a junior captain and center midfielder for the Eagles ."One little slip up at the end lost it."
"We didn't finish our chances," said Cole.
Then in the 79th minute of play, Cedar Park Christian struck, getting some good dribbling from its forward who split two defenders and only had the goalie, senior Amy Anderson, to beat. The far post shot was perfectly placed and although Anderson went to dive the right way, she came up just short.
"It was close, seven, eight inches from me," said Anderson.
It was a good shot.
"It was spinning really fast," said Cole.
And that was it, the game was over literally less than a minute later.
"I don't know what to say," said Lorette, who led the team with assists this season with nine. "We just lost it in the end I guess."
Good thing this game did not decide the Eagles' playoff fate because that makes it less important losing. For the season, Lorette has been important to the Eagles as has her senior, co-captain, Grace Bender. Both do different things on the field though both are center midfielders.
"Lorette goes all over the field, and, Bender stays more at home, and distributes the ball well," said Cole.
The team has a bunch of girls that can score goals, just none of them scored against Cedar Park Christian.
"Megan Valerio probably has the most goals," said Stan Cole. "The goals are spread around to all the forwards and midfielders. All the forward and midfielders actually have goals."
And not just a goal.
"Multiple goals for all of them," said Cole.
So the season is young even though the regular season is over. And the goals did not come in this game but they can come as the scoring distribution facts above attest. The only losses were to the 'A' schools so that says a lot for this girls soccer program at this small school in Des Moines, just off Pacific Highway.
"We lost this one, but we still have the playoffs," said Lorette.
"We have played against tougher competition this year than last year, the A schools have helped us prepare for the playoffs," said Lorette. "Games like this will make us stronger."
"This was a good hard fought game," said Cole. "We didn't finish when we had the opportunities.