Young Warrior team looks to build off 2023

MATTAWA — The 2024 Wahluke girls soccer team is looking to improve from its 7-9-2 finish from a season ago, when last year’s young Warrior team saw their season end in the South Central Athletic Conference district tournament’s consolation bracket. 

“I’m actually really excited about that – it's always good when you set up the seeds the first year, and then you can start seeing the fruit coming out of the tree,” Head Coach Cele Lopez said. “... We’ve got a few new freshmen this year. It’s always helpful for a program to see new faces.” 

Roster numbers have taken a dip for the Warriors this fall; Lopez said the team usually fields around 35 players, however, this year there are 29 players registered so far this season.  

Along with fewer players, the Warriors will be without a handful of players still recovering from injuries suffered in the basketball season. 

“We lost a couple good freshmen that were going to come back this year, but are going to be out due to injuries,” Lopez said.  

With injuries and replacing a graduating class of four seniors from a year ago, the Warriors will be replacing six starters this season. 

“It’s always good to have a fresh start – last year we were super young, and I think it’s going to happen (again) due to the injuries,” Lopez said. “But we’re always up to the challenge.” 

Open positions this year are spread out on the field, with Lopez saying the Warriors will have new starting players on defense, midfield and at forward. 

The summer included practices for the Warriors, focusing on the basics of the game as well as possession drills. A handful of players played on club teams as well, Lopez said.  

“It's getting us to be prepared,” Lopez said. “That’s extra practice a month before practices. It’s huge. The girls notice that, and I’m pretty sure we’ll notice a lot of improvement.” 

Plenty of changes are coming to the SCAC this year as a result of the 2024-28 classification cycle; the league, previously split into East and West divisions, will combine into one nine-team group. Toppenish and La Salle, formerly of the SCAC’s West division, moved up to 2A and down to 2B, respectively. Cashmere also joins the league after competing in the Caribou Trail League. 

The first game is at home against Cashmere on Tuesday. 

Lopez said Wahluke’s biggest strength last season was on the attack, seeing an average of 2.1 goals scored per game. The team is looking to balance their strengths out this season, he added.  

“I think we were pretty decent attacking, scoring goals here and there, so we’re going to focus more on balancing – and it’s starting from the bottom up,” Lopez said. 

    Wahluke sophomore Morgan Harlow, in white, controls the ball during a road game against Royal last year.
  

    Wahluke graduate Angelica Fabela (9) advances past a Royal defender last season. Fabela was one of four Warriors from last year’s roster who graduated in the spring.
  

    Wahluke sophomore Lorraine Badillo (5) rushes in to take the ball away from a Kiona-Benton player last season.