The Federal Way Eagles girls soccer team is the most happening story in the South Puget Sound League right now.

That’s quite a change of course from “before,” that is, the beginning of the year. Included on this happening road was a 1-0 loss dropped on South Puget Sound League North rival Thomas Jefferson last Saturday.

The Eagles, feathered with only three wins in their cap the first half of the season and were mired in sixth place in the SPSL North Division, have made an improbably second-half run to be in the playoff hunt now.

"I told you we had to win," said Adam Ladage, Eagles first-year head coach. "So far, of our last five, we've won four and tied one, and, we've won four in a row."

The Eagles, after tying Auburn-Riverside on Oct. 8, have beaten Kentridge, Kentlake, Kent-Meridian, and now Jefferson.

What's doing it? This change in path so suddenly, so much?

"We are playing hard and hard work is paying off in front of the goal," said Ladage.

Hard work sure paid off in front of the goal in this game for the blue and white clad young ladies.

The Eagles did it in this game despite playing the dominated team in this game. But they were the ones getting the one goal in the first half that mattered when Kendall Feider took a shot that bounced off the post and the ball somehow and someway went sideways instead of straight out. There was fellow Eagles forward Laneisha Robinson at the far post ready for the unexpected.

"Girl gets a breakaway and the ball comes straight out off a square post across to the other post," said Raiders coach Jerrod Fleury. "I don't know how that happens."

An opportunistic goal. And, in football, there are teams, even the Seattle Seahawks of the 1990s and late 80s', that thrived for success on the takeaways, like fumbles and interceptions. Kenny Easley picks, Robert Blackmon snags, Dave Brown takeaways, and don't forget Freddy Young linebacker hits. Just thrive like that and good things can and will...

It could happen to you.

But this Eagle girls soccer story certainly is one to take notice of right now.

The first half was a more dominating possession game of the ball by the Raiders.

"The first half I thought we had the run of play," said Fleury. "But they get one shot (in the half) and it goes in."

It could happen to you.

Robinson is who it happened to go to, that is, with the ball caroming squarely, literally, to her for her to tap in.

"I just happened to be on the post where I was supposed to be, where my coach tells me to be and kicked it in," said Robinson.

It could happen to you, by the way, is a move (romantic comedy) from the 1994 where someone wins the lottery.

It's happening, at this point anyway, to the Eagles, who are still needing wins to play beyond this regular season. But so far so very good.

"We need to keep up the hard work, we are almost there, we might as well go all the way," said Robinson, as speedy as they come as far as forward position players go. She nearly put in another goal in the second half from pure speed alone on a Feider shot caroming off TJ keeper Nicole Price's hands. Price just recovered enough as the ball bounced once on the goal line as Robinson stuck a foot toward it a nanosecond too late.

Robinson made some nice passes in this game too, feeding to Feider. There were good passes from the back from the likes of Taneisha MacGruder as well as forward to players like center midfielder, senior, captain, Molly Campbell.

"It was a good win," said Campbell. "We fought hard to the end."

It was a hard fight and the Raiders never backed down in this game despite a goal down in the first half. The second half was probably a 60/40 split of possession favoring them that they just could not get the ball in as senior center fullback Lydia Berger did a great job keeping the likes of Hannah Freedman, Lindsey Dahl and Aberi Kitch from getting good shots on goal.

With six minutes left, TJ got a corner kick from Dahl into the middle that was cleared. With five minutes left a TJ corner and a clear by the Eagles defense occurred. With 4:30 left, still another TJ corner kick by Katie Karrel, a bullet of a low line drive ball sent to the near post for a player like Freedman to get a head on. Almost. It was thwarted by Berger, who got to the ball first and cleared the dangerous six-yard box put by Karrel.

So that was how the game ended; 1-0 Eagles.

The fans for the Eagles, and, Raiders, were going strong in this one, just a good, competitive girls soccer game.

"Our fans are our family," said Robinson. "We did a good job. I am proud of my team."