Orcas Vikings are State Champions | Girls Soccer

It’s starting to sound like the wild West in the world of soccer.

The Orcas Vikings won not once, but twice in a row in a shootout after going through two scoreless overtimes at the girls’ soccer state championships Nov. 21 against the Napavine Tigers, beating the Tigers soundly 4-1 in overtime to become the 2009 1B/2B girls state soccer champions.

This is the first state title – in any sport – for Orcas School.

And to get there, the young women had to go through La Conner on Friday.

“This is astonishing,” senior Viking Hannah North said. “I don’t know what to think. It doesn’t seem real. When we were younger, we always told ourselves that we could be so strong and we talked about our potential. We always thought that we had a chance to win at the state level, but nobody really believed it. And Friday night, after we won over La Conner … I realized that we really did have a chance to do it.”

These games are hotly contested, low scoring edge-of-the-seaters. La Conner beat LaSalle a week before at Snohomish High School in yet another shootout, and with the score tied 1-1 between Orcas and La Conner, and after playing two fruitless five minute overtimes, the whole thing landed right back in front of the goal in not one, but two sets of shootouts Friday.

That day, Viking goalkeeper Lana Bronn got one into the left side of the La Conner goalie in the second round of the overtime shootout for the Orcas Island Vikings to win the state semifinals.

Of five players from both teams who went for their shootout free kicks, three players from each side scored goals, forcing a second round. The first Viking, Bronn, aimed high and left for her goal. Emily Bruland for the Braves was up to tie it, but her shot went right into Viking goalie Alison O’Toole’s arms and Orcas won against La Conner to pit them against the Tigers the next day at Sunset Chev Stadium for the state championship in Sumner.

On the championship day, Orcas and Napavine went at the ball fast and furious, both teams jostling for possession. Orcas had more finesse with the ball and better passing skills, but the Tiger defense was an orange swarm, intent on using any method to get the ball away from their goal. Tiger forward Elaun Sherwood was the first to score late in the first half off of an errant ball in front of the Vikings’ goal, making it 1-0 Tigers.

The Vikings came out in the second half poised and calm, but they would not find the goal until the last two minutes of regulation play. Orcas forward Alison O’Toole made it through the thicket of the Tigers’ defense and found teammate Stephanie Shaw, midfielder, who drove it in with a left-footed kick to tie up the game, 1-1.

After two intense and scoreless five minute overtimes, it ended in a shootout. Orcas hit three out of three of the free kicks, making it past Tiger goalie Sam Grove, to win the 2009 1B/2B state championship in girls’ soccer.

At halftime, Lana Bronn, goalie for the Vikings told the team, “We have the advantage; we’re down. We want it more. Let’s do it!”

And they did. O’Toole and Shaw tied it up 1-1 to force the game into overtime, and now the team is the 2009 state champion.

“It feels really good; we’ve worked really hard to get here all year and we did it,” Huxley Smart, sophomore and midfielder/forward for the Vikings, commented. “The Tigers weren’t too rough; rougher than most teams. I have a couple of bruises and bumps, but nothing major. Personally, I didn’t think we coud actually make it here. But now since we’ve done it, I expect more. I know that we as a team, and I personally, can do it. We did it.”

The team

The 2009 Orcas Vikings girls’ soccer team included Lacey Chaput, D, Sophie Thixton, MF/F, Grace Thompson, F, Huxley Smart, MF/F, Hannah North, D, Makala Forster, D, Susanne Mietzner, D, Tamara Klein, D, Tika Thorson, MF/F, Ashley Klein, D/MF, Alison O’Toole, GK/F, Stephanie Shaw, MF, Kirsten Fowler, MF/D, Emily Diepenbrock, D/F, and Lana Bronn, GK/D, with Head Coach Chama Anderson and Assistant Coach Bridget O’Toole.

The stats

The Stats

Friday, Nov. 20 the Vikings netted 4-of-6 shootout attempts to advance past La Conner and into the title game. Saturday, Nov. 21 they hit 3-of-3 needed for the title, and were 7-of-9 shootout goals for the tournament.

Shootout results for Saturday:

Orcas: 1st att. good A. Klein upper left

Napavine: 1st att. E. Montes missed over crossbar

Orcas: 2nd att. good H. North upper right

Napavine 2nd att. H. Dekoker missed wide right

Orcas: 3rd att. good E. Diepenbrock right side

Napavine 3rd att. J. Carroll’s shot blocked by Orcas goalie Alison O’Toole for win.

Regulation play stats for Saturday:

Score: Orcas 1, Napavine 1

Shots-on-Goal: Orcas 11, Napavine 10

Saves: Orcas (O’Toole 1H 3, Bronn 2H 4) 7, Napavine (Sam Grove) 5

Corner Kicks: Orcas 1, Napavine 3