State girls soccer: Mt. Spokane ready for state semifinal after helping hand from league rival University

For the first time in more than a decade, Mt. Spokane girls soccer will be playing in the State 3A semifinals.

Under the leadership of coach Michael Pellicio, the Wildcats enjoyed a 15-3 season – their only losses coming from penalty shootouts.

After winning their first playoff game against Shorewood, the eighth-seeded Wildcats faced Greater Spokane League rival University in a quarterfinal on Saturday at Roy Anderson Field in Gig Harbor.

After a scoreless first half, Mt. Spokane wore down U-Hi in the second half.

Emery Baker scored in the 55th minute and Avery Davidson added an insurance marker in the 72nd. Kenzie Shuler made seven saves for the clean sheet.

This was U-Hi’s second time to state in the past four years. The Titans, as the No. 17 seed, beat No. 16 Mountain View 4-1 in a play-in game on Wednesday before upsetting top-seeded Gig Harbor 2-1 on Friday.

By the time they met Mt. Spokane for their third game in four days, they hadn’t been home in days.

“We know that they had played their hearts out the day prior; they beat the No. 1 seed (Gig Harbor),” Pellicio said of the Titans. “We had to work hard for our game, but they had to work harder for theirs.”

The bus ride home following elimination may have been sorrowful, but that changed after about 10 minutes on the snowy pass.

U-Hi’s driver pulled up to another of his company’s buses broken down on the side of the road.

After getting out and consulting with his counterpart, he returned with information: The bus carrying Mt. Spokane’s team had suffered two flat tires. They knew the bus held the team that had just kicked them out of the tournament, but U-Hi had 28 open seats and Mt. Spokane had 27 players and coaches who needed a ride home.

Though rivals on the field just a short time earlier, neither coach hesitated to join forces.

“Ultimately, friends or foes or whatnot, you always do what’s right,” U-Hi coach Kara Sharpe said. “Obviously, there was no question whatsoever that we would get them on our bus and get them home.”

U-Hi made room for its opponent. Once everyone was on the bus safely and on their way back to Spokane, it was all chatter and laughter.

Those who played club soccer together reunited and the separation between sport and life became indistinct.

Everyone was reminded that they are all human and that there are more important things in life than winning and rivalry.

This was clearly not a new concept for either team. When U-Hi returned to the hotel after its victory over Gig Harbor, it entered the lobby to a surprise from Mt. Spokane.

“We walked in and they started cheering and clapping for us, which was pretty cool even though we were playing them the next day,” Sharpe said.

Although U-Hi’s season has come to an end, the Titans continue to support Mt. Spokane through the remainder of the tournament.

“Once we’re done playing each other, we’re wishing them the best,” Sharpe said. “We want them to win state. We want that for them.”

Looking forward, Mt. Spokane is ready to compete in the semifinals. The Wildcats have done the training, learned the concepts, reviewed their opponent’s film and prepared for a variety of scenarios on the field. Now they need to execute the plan.

“The girls work really hard,” Pellicio said. “They want things. They’re willing to go get them and it’s really as simple as that, honestly.”

Mt. Spokane faces fifth-seeded Seattle Prep at 2:15 p.m. Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

Others

2A: Second-seeded West Valley (20-0-1) takes on third-seeded Columbia River (20-2) in a semifinal at Mount Tahoma HS at 4:45 p.m. West Valley beat Chief Stealth 9-0 in a first-round game before edging North Kitsap 1-0 in a quarterfinal Saturday.

2B/1B: Top-seeded Freeman (19-0) faces fourth-seeded Northwest Christian (17-3-1) in a semifinal at Federal Way Stadium at 7 p.m. All three of NWC’s losses this season have come to league-rival Freeman, including a 4-0 shutout in the District 6 title game on Nov. 9.