K-M girls soccer ends 13-year win drought

When the Kent-Meridian High School girls soccer team defeated Spanaway Lake 3-0 last month, it was the Royals first win since 2002.

The Sept. 12 victory was a moment of pride and relief for the team and coaching staff alike, said fourth-year coach Chris Wells. Assistant coach Ferin Barry played for the Royals in 2004-08 and Wells went to Kent-Meridian from 2004-07.

“It was very important for them, and definitely very emotional,” Wells said.

Wells said having an experienced team this year helped end the winning drought.

“One of the big issues is we haven’t been able to keep a team together for long enough,” he said.

This year’s team consists of eight seniors who have played together for the past four years and nine juniors.

Wells said going into the nonleague game against Spanaway Lake, the Royals knew they had a chance to come out on top. Spanaway Lake hasn’t won a game yet this season.

“It wasn’t a letdown,” Wells said. “From the beginning, we were in it. It went better as we gained more confidence.”

Wells said that confidence extended beyond last month’s win.

“They just kind of have an edge now to them,” he said of his players. “They didn’t fully understand what winning was like and didn’t always have that competitive drive. They want to win and they want to do well.”

Wells said the team hopes to win a league match before the season is done. As of Wednesday, the Royals were 0-6 in South Puget Sound League 4A play.

“We have played a lot of the top teams in the region, which is always tough for us,” Wells said.

He said unlike many of the teams in the league, most of Kent-Meridian’s players don’t play club soccer in the off season and haven’t grown up playing soccer.

“We just try to compete and try to keep it close,” Wells said.

The Royals last won a league match in 2002 when they finished 2-13-1 in SPSL play.

The team ended a nine-year loosing streak with a tie in 2012.