Rachel Lopez stood waist-deep in a whirlpool Tuesday, a look of determination etched across her young face.

“I strained my hip flexor on our game against Ferris,” the University High junior forward explained. “I was supposed to play two games over the weekend (with the Spokane Shadow U-17 side). I sat out the Saturday game but had to play Sunday, and I reinjured myself.”

She grimaced at the memory.

“But there’s no way I’m not going to play,” she insisted. “I’m going to suck it up. It’s not going to stop me.”

Lopez was fourth in the Greater Spokane League in scoring during the regular season with a dozen goals and four assists. Senior teammate Tonya Schnibbe led the league with 17 goals and 12 assists while sophomore Abby Goss had another six goals and an equal number of assists.

Together, they add up to a 15-0 regular season – the first undefeated regular season by a University soccer team, boys or girls.

“In a way, I’m surprised that we finished the regular season undefeated,” Lopez said. “Coming into the season, I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect. We lost some key people from last year’s team. But all the new players really stepped up, and we all learned to play together.

“But I don’t think any of us expected to go through league undefeated.”

A year ago the Titans turned to Lopez when Schnibbe was injured, and the then-sophomore stepped up her game to lead the team in scoring.

“I had to learn how to play against a double team,” Lopez said. “I’m still not very good at it. I definitely had to learn how to keep my balance and use my body to keep people off me. I kept falling down. But I learned how to play more with my arms to keep people off me.

“I learned how she had to play.”

That gives this year’s Titans a consummate double threat – two powerful strikers in a league where most teams would love to find just one.

“This is my third year playing with Tonya,” Lopez said. “Our coach has really worked with us, helping us learn how to make runs for each other. We’ve definitely learned how to play off of each other this year.”

University coach Kevin Houston has been delighted. Add in the emergence of Goss and the steady play of senior midfielder Alex Marquard, and the Titans are an offensive juggernaut.

“Rachel’s had a great season,” Houston said. “She’s really come through for us with some clutch goals. She took tremendous pressure off of Tonya. Teams can’t double-team Tonya the way they did in the past.

“Well, they still double-team her, but she makes them pay for it.”

Houston pins the improvement on Lopez’s maturity

“She’s picked up her game this year over her past two years,” he said. “She’s a significant force for us. I think a big part of that is just a level of maturity. She’s been playing at (the GSL) level for two years. I think a big part of it is just her knowing that she’s a junior and knowing how to play at this level.”

It helps that Lopez loves playing the high school game.

“Playing with the Shadow is like playing in an all-star game,” she said. “I would rather play the high school game. I play better when I have people in the stands – friends and family – watching me. It gives me something to play for.”

Not that there aren’t a few drawbacks. For one thing, the skill level is more inconsistent.

“In the high school game, they don’t really know how to play a physical game, but they still try to play a physical game,” she said. “That makes it a little more dangerous.”

Lopez said she and her teammates are ready to step up their game for the playoffs.

“I like playing one game at a time,” she said. “I like having everything on the line for every game. Win and you know you’ll play again.”

Especially motivating is the opportunity to host playoff nemesis Richland.

“They’ve been our stumbling block the past four years, I’m told,” she said. “It always seems to come down to having to beat them to move on. And it always seems we’ve had to play them down there, and that’s not a fun place to have to go play.”

And the thing about playing the Bombers is their team speed, Lopez said.

“You can feel like you have speed, but when you step on the field with Richland, you feel like you’re the slowest player out there,” she said.