Skyline head coach Don Braman wants his team to remember one thing as they return to the soccer field after winning the 2008 state championship — the past is the past.
“I think it’s an important part of our history, but that’s exactly what it is — a part of our history,” the sixth-year coach said. “It certainly won’t mean anything, but it will be hard to sneak by teams.”
The Spartans graduated just three seniors — two starters — from last season’s 18-2-1 team. Forward Kiara Williams is now playing for Arizona State University, and defender Mindy Nation is playing for Northwest University in Kirkland.
The team returns nine other starters, led by all-KingCo first-team senior goalkeeper Jill Stika, and junior first-team midfielder Madison Barney. Senior midfielder Coral Anderson was named to the second team, while senior forward Emily Anderson, junior midfielder Alisha Connors and junior defender Brittanee Randle were honorable mentions.
The losses from the championship team are minimal, but Braman knows there will be a large absence at forward with Williams moving on. The speedy wing scored eight goals and had eight assists last season.
“We have a bunch of kids that bring different things,” he said, noting Emily Anderson, senior Shea O’Donnell, junior Michelle Bretl and sophomore Maddie Christ all bring unique attributes to the position.
In addition to the all-league players, the midfield is anchored by senior Anna Morgan, senior Kayten Porter and senior Emily Baer. Sophomore Nicole Candioglos is also anticipated to make an impact after moving up from junior varsity.
Defenders Makensie Malsam, Kayla Shim Morgan Bell-Smith and Meighan Hawks return depth to the defensive back line, along with sophomore back-up goalkeeper Christina Vargas, who had two shutouts last season.
Skyline opens its season at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8 at home against non-league Mercer Island. They follow with two more non-league contests against Bellevue and Mount Si, before traveling to Oregon Sept. 18-19 where they’ll face Oregon’s top high school talent in the Tualatin Showcase. The first league game is Sept. 22 at Bothell.
“We have a very tough preseason,” Braman said. “If you want to be the best you have to play against the best teams, and play them well.”
As for looking for a repeat in 2009, Braman said the team will take the season one league game at a time.
“We’re trying to do the best we can to be prepared for Bothell in our first league match, and other things will take care of themselves if we can take care of the game in front of us,” he said.
