SHORELINE — So, how does it feel if you’re the King’s Way Christian girls soccer team, having the best season in program history and playing for its first-ever state championship Saturday afternoon?
“I can’t even explain it,” said senior striker MacKenzie Ellertson. “It was the most stressful game of soccer I’ve ever played in my life. … I’m so excited.”
Stressful, mostly, because after 80 minutes of regulation and two golden-goal 5-minute overtimes in Friday’s Class 1A state semifinal against Klahowya, the Knights’ prevailed in a penalty-kick shootout to come out on top 2-1 (4-3 PKs) at Shoreline Stadium.
Goalkeeper Hannah Moats made two saves in the shootout, and the Knights’ celebration frenzy began near midfield the senior saved Anastasya’ Radillo’s penalty-kick shot.
King’s Way (15-1-2) faces La Salle out of Yakima in Saturday’s 2 p.m. title game. La Salle defeated Deer Park in overtime, 2-1.
Given Friday’s result, Moats thought it was a sign of things to come from earlier in the day.
Moats and her teammates checked into their local hotel early Friday afternoon and instead of thinking about the game, Moats took a power nap.
“If I think about it too much,” she said, “I’m paralyzed.”
Funnily enough, she dreamt of a shootout happening Friday and going in the Knights’ favor. And it did.
Moats made nine saves Friday between regulation and the overtime sessions before two more in the shootout.
As a four-year goalkeeper, Moats actually is a newbie at shootouts. Before Friday, she never played in one, but the secret to Moats’ success started by keeping a level head.
“I don’t freak myself out,” she said. “I do get nervous, but I think nerves are a good thing. It builds adrenaline.”
A balanced game throughout, Klahowya (18-3) had advantages at halftime in a 0-0 game with four corner kicks and three shots on goal. All three shots were saved by Moats.
Just minutes into the second half is when. King’s Way’s first shot on goal was a goal made by Ellertson, a Washington State signee and team leader in goals, in the 48th minute. Her shot 20 yards out slipped past goalkeeper Maria Mist to the left post. Klahowya responded 3 minutes later for the equalizer when Alyssa Peters notched her 17th goal of the season.
Then came the shootout. The Knights were 4 for 4 on their penalty-kick shots by Kate Roseburrough, Ellertson, Lucy Mohammadi and Amber Kolb.
Roseburrough is one of nine seniors who the majority of them played as eighth graders in coach Tina Ellertson’s first season.
Also a club-soccer player, she’s known a number of the players since she was 8. This weekend’s been a building process their entire tenure at King’s Way — playing in the program’s biggest game to date Saturday. King’s Way’s reached the state playoffs in four of the past five years, but never past the state quarterfinals.
Until now.
“This has been the most special team I’ve ever played on,” Roseburrough said. “We’re a big, giant family, which is the coolest part. … and Adding into our family has been key to our success. I really love how all of us connect on a different level more than just soccer.”
Said Moats: “We’re ready (for Saturday). I don’t think we’ve ever wanted something so badly.”
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CLASS 1A STATE SEMIFINAL
At Shoreline Stadium
King’s Way 2, Klahowya 1 (4-3 PKs)
King’s Way
Goals (assists) — MacKenzie Ellertson. Goalkeeper saves — Hannah Moats, 11
King’s Way PKs — Kate Roseburrough, MacKenzie Ellertson, Lucy Mohammadi, Amber Kolb.
