For the Kentlake Falcons girls soccer team, the 2024 season has had some highs and lows so far. A high is the Falcons are currently sitting in fourth place, three points behind White River for the third spot in the 3A NPSL.
The Falcons are just one point above Auburn Mountainview, which has given Kentlake a run for their money the past two years.
A low is the Falcons could have taken a big step in taking down the Decatur Gators, who are looking to win the NPSL this season, but Kentlake fell short in a 4-0 loss at home on Oct. 18.
“Decatur is a solid team and they have some really solid players,” Manager Joe Grijalva said.
It was the first loss of the season for Kentlake where they failed to score a goal, dating back to their state loss against Oak Harbor. For Grijalva, it is important to not carry this loss into the following week.
“We battled. But it is one of those things we take with a grain of salt. They had us on this day, but are we going to be able to bounce back for our next game,” he said.
Decatur scored three first half goals and two in one minute, with the second being an own goal. Kentlake still battled in the first half and even into the second, searching for any sort of spark.
“It boils down to their perseverance and really the captains and the whole team motivating each other… It is one of those things where we gotta play every minute of every game,” Grijalva said.
Trailing 3-0 at the break, Grijalva gave a message to his team that they just needed a little bit of momentum to break their way and they are right back in the game.
“We get one of them, we are right back in it,” he said.
But there would be no spark for the Falcons, as instead of them getting on the board, Decatur would add a fourth from Kaihea Tuifua, whom Grijalva thinks might be the best player in the NPSL.
“I want to say she is the best player in the league right now. She is solid,” Grijalva said.
Outside of catastrophic failure, the Falcons will be in the district tournament. The Falcons lost eight seniors from last year’s state team. For them to get back to the postseason is a testament to the young players who stepped up in those roles.
“We didn’t know what to expect losing eight seniors. We lost a lot of our leadership and girls have stepped up… It is not an easy of a path (to state) as last year,” Grijalva said.
At the end of the game while he was addressing the team, Grijalva said they needed to get their swagger back. What he meant was for them to get back to playing with confidence.
“Just feel good about your game. Have that confidence… Hopefully we have a good bounce back Monday and get that swagger back and confidence that we need,” said Grijalva.
The Falcons did indeed get their swagger back, beating Auburn Mountainview on Oct. 21 by a score of 3-1. The Falcons now await Todd Beamer on Oct. 23 before an all-important game with White River on the road at Arrow Lumber Stadium on Oct. 26.
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Adalyn Sagen looks to outrun a Decatur defender. Ben Ray / The Reporter
Shannon McLain and Isabella Cabaccang fight to take the ball from a Decatur player. Ben Ray / The Reporter
