Heartbreaking loss for the Kodiak soccer team in state finals

How would it end? How would this magical season of Cascade soccer end? Undefeated on the season, ranked number one, now playing in the State 1A Girls’ Soccer finals against Kings. 

That game went to overtime, then a shootout, which went nine players deep until Kings put in the game winner. Soccer can be a cruel game, in that sense. To play so hard and come so far, only to lose on a penalty kick. 

“It’s anyone’s game at that point. It was a great championship match. My heart breaks for our girls, but at the same time, Kings was a great team. If you lose to a great team, that’s way to go out. The girls played a great game,” said Glen Stefanko, Cascade head coach. 

Cascade played LaSalle in the semifinals on Nov. 17 at Shoreline Stadium. The Kodiaks and Lighting have met in the state playoffs the past three years and each contest has been epic. Cascade came into the game 18-0-1, while LaSalle, the Yakima area private school, was 18-1. 

Early on, LaSalle was pressing the action. At 16 minutes, they nearly put one in the net. Just minutes later another shot. 

“The beginning was a little bit disorganized on defense. We had a hard time adjusting to some of their fast players. They attacked more than we expected, but once we made that adjustment, I thought everything went really smooth,” said Cascade senior defender, Maddie Vandel. 

Finally, at 26 minutes, senior Lauren Richardson perfectly fed streaking senior Ashley Parton, who scored on a breakaway. Getting that first goal was huge for the Kodiaks. 

“That gives you that sigh of relief. Our game plan is not that far off.  We knew we weren’t going to get a ton of chances. We weren’t developing a formation to get a ton of chances. We knew we had to put the ones away that we did. Ashley was calm under pressure and that’s exactly what we asked of her,” Stefanko said. 

Cascade led 1-0 at half. Naturally, LaSalle was pressing furiously for the equalizer. A shot hit the crossbar. Another shot, keeper Devan Archer dove to make the save. The Lightning had corner kick after corner kick, the free kick. 

Late in the game, Cascade was pressing the action and final scored on a breakaway, as senior Emily Gaines hit the perfect assist to Parton, who scored at 38 minutes. 

“It was good to seal the deal. They had a lot of shots. We’re so thankful to our keeper for saving our butts again and again. I was really thankful to have composure on that last goal and not kick it away,” Gaines said. “It just sealed the deal and really let us calm down. You tell after that, we started playing our game again, which we were lacking the whole game.”

Cascade was able to hold on for the 2-0 victory. 

“It means absolutely everything. We’ve played LaSalle all three years to get here. We lost to them in this same game last year. All we wanted to do was beat them this year. We are just more than thrilled and thankful for this opportunity and all the support. We could not have done without a more special team and coach,” Gaines said. 

The Kodiaks and Lightning have developed quite the rivalry in the state playoffs. Stefanko said he enjoys matching wits with LaSalle Head Coach Felix Hernandez. 

“That was pretty fun. I like Felix. He’s has a good, strong soccer mind. I know he’s going to throw something at me. I enjoy that part of the game. It’s fun to come up against you,” Stefanko said. 

Stefanko felt his team was slow to respond to the Lightning attack early in the game. 

“Sometimes you have to count on your keeper and we did today. Our game plan was to adapt to what they had coming at us. The girls didn’t adapt until the 25th minute. They made some changes to slow down the attack,” Stefanko said. “That’s what we talked about at halftime. Our adaption has to take a minute, not 25 minutes. It was a lesson. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and you have to count on your keeper and we did. Devan did a phenomenal job while we were trying to work out our hiccups.”

Senior midfielder Richardson said everyone poured their heart into that game. 

“We’re all exhausted. None of us have much energy right now because we seriously left it all out on the field. We gave it everything in that game. It was crazy. I’m glad we came out on top,” Richardson said. 

Certainly, getting back to the finals for the second time in three years is quite an accomplishment, especially for a public school. 

“It’s a pretty big deal for little Cascade. For us to be playing with a big dogs every year for the past three years is a big confidence builder for the girls going forward and the girls coming into the program,” Stefanko said. 

In the other semifinal, Kings defeated Seattle Academy 2-0. So Cascade met Kings in the finals at Shoreline Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 18. Interestingly, Cascade played Kings in the first game of the season, beating the Knights 5-2. 

In the first half, Kings pressed the attack. Cascade was playing a different strategy, keeping everyone back to defend, then trying to strike on the counter attack. Kings had several shots just miss and Archer made a couple nice saves. 

The game was tied 0-0 at half. 

Finally, at the 53 minute, Parton scored on a breakaway. Cascade led 1-0, but could they hold off Kings for the title? At 71 minutes, a furious Kings press finally netted the equalizer. The game ended 1-1 after regulation play. 

Both five minute-golden goal overtimes went scoreless. The game went to a shootout. Gaines made her shot. Kings matched. Parton made her shot. Kings missed wide. Richardson’s shot was blocked. After that it went back and forth, making for Cascade was Victoria Driscoll, Vandel, Josie Brenan, Kascia Muscutt and Kolby Hunt. 

Truh Merriman had her shot blocked, opening the door for Kings. Kings made it to win the championship. Stefanko said Kings was a much different team from the one they played at the beginning of the season. 

“I looked at the film. It wasn’t even close to way they played against Seattle Academy. They’ve changed over the season. That’s something you can expect on the private level,” he said. 

Normally, Cascade presses the action, but in this game, Stefanko kept the girls in defense and pressed for the counter attack, a common soccer strategy. 

“A little different strategy. We had a our gunpowder and we were putting them up front. We had a change of defense so they didn’t have their scorers in front of the net. We had a little different strategy on both offense and defense. I would say it worked pretty well. It was well executed,” Stefanko said. 

Certainly, it was tough way to lose the game. 

“We were in the 10th kicker in the shootout. I’ve been in enough games and shootouts to know it is anyone’s game at that point. It’s not about the best team anymore. You just have to find someone to hold a trophy at that point. I’m really proud of the girls. I just feel bad for them,” Stefanko said. 

This team was so good, Cascade may not see another like it a long time. Outstanding players like Ashley Parton, Emily Gaines and Lauren Richarson will be hard to replace, not to mention all the terrific role players on the team. 

“The number one thing is these seniors have left a legacy. They’ve paved a path. These seniors have been to the finals three times. They’ve set a path to let the girls know, this is our standard. It is high. The seniors before us made it possible,” Stefanko said. 

Cascade was not just fighting Kings in the finals, they were fighting history. No public school has won 1A state in 25 years. That probably stings the most, coming so close. 

“It’s not just us, but knowing that every other public school out there. It will happen. Someone will break the threshold. Hopefully, it is us,” he said. 

Second place in state, 19-1-1 on the season. Not too shabby. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.