‘One goal can make a difference’: West Valley breaks through with first girls soccer state title in school history

The West Valley girls soccer team had come tantalizingly close in recent seasons. The Eagles have made five straight trips to the State 2A tournament only to fall in the title game or semifinal the past two seasons.

But it only takes one goal to make a huge difference.

On Nov. 22, coach CC Collins and her squad finally broke through with a single second-half goal, made it stand up, and left Federal Way Memorial Stadium with the State 2A championship trophy. They came home to Millwood with the first girls soccer state title – and eighth team title overall – in West Valley history.

“Mission accomplished,” Collins said earlier this week.

“We actually set this goal last year, and unfortunately lost in the semifinal game. So this year we just came back harder and stronger, and with the bulk of our players being seniors, it was talked about daily. Practices. Writing goals. Our goals are focused around what we had to do to win state and we really just put our heads to it.”

“It feels amazing,” senior all-league forward Jenna Howe said. “Definitely feels like a big relief, almost, because it’s just something that we’ve worked so hard for.”

Maybe even more remarkable than winning a state title, the Eagles completed their 22-game regular season and postseason run undefeated without allowing a single goal. Let that sink in. They outscored their opponents for the season 150-0.

“I haven’t found anywhere where this has ever happened,” Collins said of the remarkable feat. “A lot of people just say, ‘Wow, that’s historical,’ or ‘That’s legendary.’ But as far as my research goes, I haven’t seen anybody who’s ever done it before.”

“Our defense works so hard,” senior all-league wing Lauren Matthew said. “Our forwards are pressing our defenders all practice every practice. We have a good front line, but our defense is just top notch.”

This senior class has lost exactly three games in four seasons – all in the state tournament. So they set a high bar for themselves by terming the season a success or failure by winning the state title.

“Our expectations were super high, but not just for ourselves, but from everyone around us,” Howe said. “Because they all knew that we are such a good team, and we’ve made it so far in the past that we definitely felt the pressure.”

“We had to come together and meet as a group and discuss, like, how that pressure was really getting to them,” Collins said. “Some were just ‘Win, win, win, win.’ And some were like, ‘Well, what if we don’t?’ … We decided that as long as we put our hearts out there, then that’s all that matters.”

The title game was scoreless at halftime, and Collins said that message was reinforced.

“ ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ That was the halftime speech,” Collins said. “We’re here. We made it here. We are proud of ourselves no matter what. … ‘Let’s go finish this and have fun with our friends one last time.’ That pressure was maybe finally relieved and we did our thing.”

“That’s what really kept us together as a team and level headed, instead of putting a bunch of pressure on us that we have to win,” senior all-league center back Kyia Silva said. “And I think that really helped us create a positive environment.”

Like so many times over the past four years, Howe was the catalyst on the go-ahead goal. She beat a defender to the outside, then made a crossing pass into the box. Senior all-league wing Chloe Van Wey trapped it, but the ball caromed off a defender and past the goalie for what turned out to be the game’s only score.

“I started crying,” Howe said. “I was just so happy, because I was so confident in how we had been playing.”

“Everybody started to cry,” Collins added.

“The sidelines were all like, ‘Who scored that? Who scored that?’ And then we’re usually looking to see who’s hugging who, and they were all running around,” Collins said.

The team celebrated at midfield then saluted a robust cheering section of students and family that made the trip over the pass for the match. But then, it was right back to work.

“We were just like, ‘We’ve got to defend and just make sure we don’t get scored on. Because one goal can make a difference,” Matthew said.

“The excitement on the field was, like, so intense, and it was so amazing to feel because we worked for it,” senior all-league forward Claire Busse said. “I mean, three years in a row we’ve been at it so close, and we finally got that goal. We were, like, waiting for the time to wind down, and we were all so excited and you could feel the energy.”

All that was left was to make the one goal stand up for the remaining time – and for all time.

“Our team is especially close. Even from years past, it was just a completely different environment,” Silva said. “It was really nice to feel like what we’ve been working on for so long had finally been achieved.”

“This is a once in a lifetime,” Collins said. “These girls are all so unique and so driven and motivated. And I mean, obviously I’d love to have another group like this, but I don’t know how.”

“It makes me sad,” Howe said, “that I won’t ever get to play with those girls again.”