Mount Si High School girls soccer squad is betting on chemistry
August 30, 2011
By Sebastian Moraga
The Wildcats’ girls soccer team wants to erase the bitter taste of last year’s disappointing season both on and off the field. The team’s chemistry has improved, it is younger and the girls are focused on making another run at a state title. Contributed
Forget the new classes or the fact that she’s closer to graduation. To Mount Si soccer midfielder Brittany Duncan the difference this year has nothing to do with school.
“This year we get along,” she said.
The 2011 version of the Mount Si girls soccer team has little of the drama that accompanied its predecessor.
With 11 seniors graduating last June, this team carries a lighter load and a broader smile than the 2010 edition.
“We work together,” her twin and teammate Taylor Duncan said. “We’re not like separate cliques, we’re like one big clique.”
It’s early yet, but this team seems to have its act together sooner than usual, which for its coach, spells success.
“I’ve had teams in the past that have had great chemistry. All those that I have had, have gone to the state tournament and done some damage,” coach Darren Brown said. “The teams I have had drama, that don’t get along, they can be anywhere from .500 to district playoff one-and-out.”
Like last year.
The playoffs lasted one day for a streaky squad that lost to Bellevue in the playoffs’ first round.
“We fell apart,” said forward Miranda Rawlings. “We didn’t have good chemistry and we just fell apart.”
After an unbeaten preseason, the team never got off the see-saw, en route to a 7-7-1 record, playoff included.
This year’s bunch, Brown said, gets along. They are also hungry to return to Sumner, site of the state tournament games.
“They told me, ‘Coach Brown, we want to get back to the State tournament,’” he said. “I said, ‘that’s going to take hard work each and every day.’ This group wants to work hard, so we’re going to push them.”
So far, the group’s put in the hours, with red faces and sweaty jerseys after practice. And those are just the coaches.
The season opens Sept. 13 against Liberty. Other than Senior Night, that’s the game the players have marked in red on their calendars.
“They’re our hardest competition,” Rawlings said.
Brown agreed,
“Liberty on paper is the favorite,” he said. “Then I would put us and Bellevue right there.”
Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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3 Responses to “Mount Si High School girls soccer squad is betting on chemistry”
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I’m curious, is the comment “disappointment on and off the field ” coming from the coaching staff looking for excuses or a reporter looking to create drama from within a story by throwing last year’s team under the bus?
The true disappointment comes from parents who read one sided articles about their kids and the level of disappointment they were to their coaches, school and community as your published article promotes. Leadership starts with positive influence, using last year’s team as the sacrificial lamb to promote positive chemistry with this year’s team seems contradictive at best, not to mention the message we send to our young athletes – “win or you could be subject to the same public scrutiny”.
I suspect nothing will change in the way your articles are written or the coaching style that promotes such articles, my comments come from a proud father who witnessed and promoted the hard work these young girls put forth in their final years only to see it ripped away under public scrutiny.
Hi Mr Hargett,
No one called any of the individual players on last season’s team disappointing or a disappointment. The phrase in the caption that your reference reads “disappointing season both on and off the field.” Several of the players told the Star’s reporter that they had been disappointed with the season and how they worked together as a team. No one blamed anyone for how the season turned out.
The coaches never disparaged any of their former or current players. In fact, last season head coach Darren Brown spoke highly of the contributions from your daughter. Jessica clearly worked hard for the team — and that is why she is playing for Lindfield College now.
You have every reason to be proud of her dedication and talent. The Star’s article does nothing to diminish either nor did it try to. (Neither did Brown or any players, for that matter.)
- Dan Catchpole,
Editor, SnoValley Star
Being one of the eleven who graduated from this team, it really is upsetting to read this article. All drama aside, we worked very hard last season to accomplish what we did, and it is hard to read this article that really does as Mr. Hargett said, “throw us under the bus”. I mean, look how well the team is doing without us…..