Moses Lake girls soccer looks to defend league and district championships

MOSES LAKE - It's always difficult for the sequel to outdo the original.

But Moses Lake girls soccer is hoping to buck that trend.

Last season was a banner year for the Chiefs. Moses Lake won the Columbia Basin Big 9 championship, the 4A District 6 championship, Alysha Overland broke the single-season goals record and Alysha and Stephanie Overland became the first players in Moses Lake history to make the All-State first or second team.

All that was missing was a state tournament win.

In 2013, the Chiefs dropped their opening state tournament game at home to Union, 2-0.

"Our goal last year was to win that first round at state," head coach Ric Char said. "We didn't reach one of our goals, anyway. That was one of our goals and it's going to be one of our goals this year.

"I've got probably my best senior class graduating in quite some time and they've got pretty high aspirations to leave the program on a high note."

That senior class includes the Overlands, who were All-State, and McKenna Walker and Lizzy McGraw who were both All-Conference selections.

Alysha was a machine, scoring 29 goals a season ago, while her sister Stephanie added 10 goals and 10 assists.

Walker and McGraw recorded five goals each.

"This is probably one of my best senior classes ever in 14 years," Char said. "We've got a ton of All-Conference players on it with Alysha scoring as many goals as she had last year with 29 or 30 goals. She's broken the record by almost eight goals.

"Lizzy McGraw's come up through the ranks all four years on varsity. I've got a few players like that like the twins who are four-year varsity players."

Char and Alysha have already discussed how to follow-up her historic 2013 season.

Char dealt with a similar situation two years ago when Caylah Lunning struggled as a junior after winning the Big 9 Player of the Year award as a sophomore.

Lunning was able to return to form her senior year and has since moved on to play for Eastern Washington University.

As far as Alysha improving, Char says there's always room for that.

"You can always be better and we've had the conversation after last season how to follow-up on such a successful season is going to be a challenge in itself just to do," he said. "Just to meet or exceed that."

Moses Lake will have to deal with the addition of West Valley (Yakima) into the Big 9. The Rams were a member of the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference last season and finished the regular season undefeated before losing in the state playoffs to Sumner and Squalicum.

"It'll be nice to have someone that'll help to get us ready for state and someone that will be a little more challenging," Stephanie said. "It'll just be nice to have another challenge. Challenges are always welcome 'cause it just makes us better."

The Chiefs will also have to address the departures of Lunning, Megan Roughan and Krystal Fick.

Lunning played up front with Alysha, scoring six goals - third most on the team. In the midfield, Roughan scored one goal and assisted on two last season.

Fick shored up Moses Lake's defense.

Each player was valuable and will have to be replaced for the Chiefs to duplicate their success from a season ago.

Stephanie appears to be the one those extra shots will go to, but she's not worried about her touches.

"I'm just going to keep shooting and if it goes in it goes in," she said. "I'm going to keep assisting so we'll see. Whatever happens, happens."

McGraw will also have to raise her level of play in the midfield.

"Megan played next to me in the middle ... I'll have to be stronger in the middle and make up for her being gone, but I know someone else will step in there too to help me out," she said.

Currently, the Chiefs are dealing with injuries to Walker and Jessie Loera.

Walker is hampered with a knee injury she suffered playing in a summer basketball tournament, while Loera is favoring a shin injury.

Moses Lake also lost Megan Mullin for the season to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Despite the injuries and pressure to repeat last season's success, Moses Lake girls soccer is a tight-knit group with a tremendous amount of talent.

"I think we can be pretty dang good if we start working together, start getting to know each other better," McGraw said. "I think we can be a really good team."