Since their sport was added to the athletic lineup at South Whidbey High School a decade ago, members of the Falcon girls soccer team have known winning a conference title was going to be tough.
They didn’t have the tools in the early years, when even scoring a single goal in a game was reason for celebration. Three years ago, when the team placed third in the state tournament, winning the conference was still a lofty goal — they made it into the tournament after placing third in the North Cascades Conference that year.
On Saturday, the Falcons attained that years-old goal in as perfect form as possible. Hosting Mount Baker at Waterman Field — the only team to take South Whidbey to an overtime shootout this season — the Falcons kicked their way to a 3-0 win to go 14-0 on the season and lock first place in the NCC.
“It feels great,” said sophomore goalkeeper Allyson Riggs as she walked off the field Saturday after recording her 10th shutout of the season.
Hardly a foregone conclusion against the Mountaineers, the victory developed slowly in a physical game that seemed to set some emotions loose within the losing team. Collisions, slide tackles and trips came often in the game, sending several players on both teams off to the sidelines.
Still, Falcon coach Paul Arand couldn’t fault the visitors for playing a “physical game” against his indomitable team.
“They have a lot of heart,” he said of the Mountaineers.
South Whidbey attacked that heart early and often, seeking to avoid another situation like the 1-0 shootout win they had over Mount Baker in September. Scoring first was sophomore midfielder Katie Watson off a Jenna Wild assist in the seventh minute. Seven minutes later, Wild, a sophomore forward, got loose again, but kept the ball this time to shoot South Whidbey’s second goal of the game.
After that, the two teams battled over a long stretch for not much result. A flu-stricken Claudia Gil-Osorio played the game as South Whidbey’s top scoring threat, but never found the back of the net even as she pushed through illness to make rush after rush at the net. Over the course of the game, the Falcons would gain a 25-3 shooting advantage over the Mountaineers.
It was when the NCC championship seemed safely in their hands that the Falcons made their last strike at Mount Baker. Again it was Jenna Wild, picking up a nice Liz Jeffers assist, who put the ball in the net. The goal came as a reward for a player who spent much of the game feeding the ball to other players.
“It feels really good that our team can work together,” Wild said.
On the other end of the field, Riggs, then later sophomore Ashley Cotton, had an almost uneventful afternoon thanks to an air tight defense. Riggs credited junior stopper Rita Jones with keeping the ball out of the zone.
“I thank her for it,” she said.
The victory not only gives the team its long-awaited championship, but also earns the team a first-round bye in the Northwest District 2A championship and home field advantage.
In their first playoff game, the Falcons will meet the NCC’s fourth-place team, which will either be 5-7 Granite Falls or 5-8 Lakewood. This week, the Falcons finish their regular season against Lakewood, which comes to Waterman Field on Tuesday.
