Young Warden squad drops two on final weekend

SUMNER - Yes, the Warden Lady Cougars soccer team was very young this season, but it didn't mean that they didn't set their goals high.

Once their talent started to show itself, Warden saw its season's successes bloom from little victories to a run at the state elite.

This past weekend, the Lady Cougars traveled to Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner to battle it out in the Class 1B/2B state semifinals, maybe a year earlier than expected, but a chance for a state title run was theirs nonetheless.

In the long run the youthful Warden squad would eventually fall in the semifinal on Friday to eventual champions Seattle Lutheran 4-0, and then on Saturday would have to settle for the fourth place trophy with their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Evergreen Lutheran.

"This year has been a super year for our girls soccer team," Warden head coach Don Edson said. "The girls have worked hard all year and continued to improve over the whole season.  I could not have asked for more from any of the girls.  This season has been the best yet for our program."

Warden (12-7) fell behind 3-0 by halftime on Friday and couldn't resist the aggressive attack by the soon-to-be-champion Seattle Lutheran squad.

"This first game was an eye opener to the pace and style of play at this level," Edson said. "We don't play many games on turf and it proved to be a big adjustment.  We struggled to get the ball moving to our attacking half of the field."

The Lady Cougars' back four and goaltender fought off constant pressure the entire game and Edson said just being able to posses the ball for long stretches was a "constant struggle."

In the 3rd/4th place match the next day, Warden and Evergreen Lutheran battled to a scoreless draw before the action got heated up.

"The first half again we struggled to get the ball out of our defensive half of the field," Edson said. "We did have a few opportunities to get forward but could not find the net.  After playing alot of defense the first half and still being tied at zero, we felt that the second half we could find a way to get something going."

But it was Evergreen who got going first, scoring in the 45th and 58th minutes of play. 

"The girls came out the second half and really challenged themselves to try to find a way to win," Edson said. "After they scored the first goal, we really had to push some numbers forward to try to tie the game.  Unfortunately this left us with vulnerable defensively which led to their second goal.  Still the girls continued to work hard."

Freshman striker Brylee Whitney - one of the five freshmen that started games for Warden this season - attacked the Evergreen net before getting fouled in the penalty area which set up Taylor Edson's 62nd minute penalty kick and the Lady Cougars had trimmed the lead to 2-1.

"The girls really got energized with the score and continued to apply pressure," Don Edson said. "We did end up with two more good scoring opportunities but just couldn't capitalize."

The eventual winners scored once more in the 75th minute to cement their victory.

"With the success of this team, I believe it will start to draw more girls to come and play soccer," Don Edson said. "Every girl on the team has earned valuable experience which should pay off in the future.  Qualifying and playing at the state tournament has also showed us what we can improve on, so that we can go there and compete for a state title."

One thing they can build off of is their success at home and their improved offense which could help kickstart that goal.

"We ended our season not losing a single game at home on our field," Don Edson said. "This is something that the girls are very proud of.  We also scored more goals this year than any other year."