A year ago Tahoma and Kentlake’s girls soccer teams battled it out for the top two spots in the South Puget Sound League 4A North Division but in the end Kentwood hoisted the state championship trophy.

This year, it may be a battle for the top again among those three squads, as the Bears and the Conquerors are atop the North Division standings while the Falcons are looking to break out of a slump.

Titles for Tahoma

In 2010 the Bears came oh so close to adding another state crown, falling short in the title game to the Conks in a shootout. The team has made three straight appearances in the state tournament and last won the whole thing in 2005.

Tahoma won the North Division as well as league and district crowns a year ago.

This year the squad feels like it can pick up right where it left off.

“We’re still ready to go,” said senior forward Cassidy Richmond. “Even with losing the seniors that we did from last year, I still think our team will be strong and will be successful. As of now, I think we’ll be looking about the same as we did last year.”

Richmond made that statement before Tahoma had played a game. As of Sept. 19, the Bears were 3-0, with wins over Kentridge, Mount Rainier and Auburn Riverside.

Richmond, who notched 15 goals and five assists as a junior, was one of three players to score against Auburn Riverside in a 3-1 victory.

Good team chemistry, on and off the field, is the team’s strength, Richmond explained.

“We’re all really good friends, we play on the same club team, so we’ve known each other a long time,” she said. “I definitely think we have everything it takes to make it to state again. We just have to keep up our team chemistry and work hard in training.”

Lauren Duty, who is co-captain with Richmond, said the team strives to work hard at practice which translates in strong play in games.

“As a team we look forward to every game,” Duty said. “We’re going to take every team the same way and hopefully we’ll win. We’re not the type of team to take any game lightly.”

Duty explained the Tahoma squad is full of athletic girls, many of whom participate in other sports, which translates to success on the soccer pitch.

“One of our strengths is our speed because we have a lot of athletes who run track,” she said. “We have two girls who are (track) state champions. Our team has a lot of athletic players so no matter what situation we’re put in we can cope with it. Together as a team we’re able to work things out.”

Duty added that this year the team is more focused and she attributes the off-the-field relationships to that.

“The fact that we’re all best friends off the field makes us 10 times better on the field,” she said.

Kentwood

Being defending state champions can mean high expectations.

As of Sept. 19, the Conquerors were 3-0, but midfielders and co-captains Reilly Retz and Megan McNally felt like the team could be playing better.

McNally said that while winning state again is the ultimate goal, Kentwood has to deal with the pressure it faces in defending its title, but “it just makes us work harder.”

“We’re obviously coming off a big win last year,” Retz said. “But, we’re trying to put last year behind us. It’s a new year.”

Retz noted that while on paper Kentwood seems to be fine, on the field there’s something missing right now.

“We have a lot of individual talent,” she said. “Some players, we can play well together, but we have to get there as a whole team. We don’t have a rhythm and we’re not connecting as a team, but, we’re working on that.”

And it’s not like the team doesn’t get along off the field, Retz said, they just “need to connect on a soccer level.”

Kentwood started off with a 3-0 victory over Thomas Jefferson, a 1-0 defeat of Kentlake and 2-1 win against North Division foe Kentridge before squaring off against Mount Rainier on Tuesday.

Every individual player is strong in her position, Retz said, but there’s room for improvement.

“We need to connect between each line,” she said. “We need to move to the ball a little quicker. We still work hard and we’re still aggressive to the ball.”

Once the Conks can connect the way the want to on the field, McNally said, then they can start focusing on larger goals.

“The first thing we want to worry about is winning league and we can worry about state from there,” McNally said. “To get through the regular season, every game you have to be ready to work hard because we do play in a tough league. You have to be looking to improve every single game. If we’re doing that, just getting better and better, I think that’s going to carry us through league.”

Coach Aaron Radford gave the team a binder filled with information about the role of each player on the team, McNally said, with an expectation that they become students of the game.

It will build on the fact many of the girls have known each other and played together for a long time as well as help them understand how to take all the individual talent the Conks have and put it together to work as a whole.

“We have strengths all over the field,” McNally said. “Our midfield is very strong but I think we have a lot of speed up top and our back line is really strong. We have so much depth. We have so many players who are really skilled all over the field.”

And while the team is taking it one game at a time, McNally said, she is definitely looking forward to the rematch of the 2010 state title game with Tahoma on Oct. 1 at Maxwell Stadium.

“That’s the first thing I looked for when the schedule came out,” she said. “When are we playing Tahoma and where are we playing. Everyone is always going to have that game they’re looking forward to … that’s a huge deal for us, that could decide if we win league or not and if we stay undefeated. We’ve always had such a strong rivalry with Tahoma. I’m excited to see how they are this year.”

Kentwood knows it already has a target on its back, McNally said, being the defending state champions and top rated team in the state.

“A lot is expected of you but I think we can step up to the challenge,” she said. “Who doesn’t want to beat the No. 1 ranked team? Who doesn’t want to beat the defending state champions? We’ll have to really come out with intensity.”

Kentlake

Losing to Tahoma in the first round of the playoffs was tough for Kentlake to take, but, captains Laura Rayfield and Carli Pogson said they’re over it now.

Well, mostly over it.

“It was bittersweet,” Rayfield said of the end of last season. “I have friends on the Kentwood team and I know how hard they work, so, they deserved it. We knew we could’ve gone further.”

Pogson pointed out that Kentlake did not lose to division rivals Kentwood during the regular season. Still, it was a little bit tough to see the Conks beat Tahoma in the state title game.

“We knew we were good enough, “ Pogson said. “It was especially bittersweet because Tahoma knocked us out of the playoffs. We moved on. It’s a new year.”

Right now, though, the Falcons need to refocus after starting off 1-2-1 in league play.

“The first couple games have been a little rocky,” Rayfeild said. “But, we’re really starting to come together as a team. We’re willing to not only put in the work off the field as far as team bonding but we’re putting in the work on the field.”

Pogson stated the team, as it does every year, has come up with three terms to focus on this season.

“Character, effort and attitude because those are three things we have control over,” she said. “Our goal is not just to achieve that on the field but off the field and this year we want to make it further than last year.”

Kentlake has the talent, Pogson and Rayfield explained, it’s just a matter of putting all the pieces of the puzzle into place.

“I feel like it’s coming together,” Rayfield said. “It’s exciting. Our biggest thing is our mental game. Without a doubt we have the talent to get (to state).”

Rayfield noted the team has to be willing to play unselfish soccer, to be willing to sacrifice for each other during games.

“When you get down in a game, you always have to keep your head up and fight back,” she said.

Both captains feel like the defense and the front line are solid. As the season progresses Pogson said, they should find a balanced approach to games, and that balance is something the Falcons are working on.

“It’s about focusing on the big picture,” Pogson said. “We treat every game like it’s a playoff game.”

Once it all comes together, Pogson added, it could be really awesome to watch Kentlake girls soccer.

“When we put passes together on the field, it’s beautiful,” she said.