The King’s Way Christian girls soccer team’s breakout season ended Wednesday with a 3-0 loss to University Prep in a first-round 1A state playoff game.
The Knights, who won their first-ever district championship over the weekend, finished 12-4 after making their first appearance in the state playoffs.
“It’s a bummer to lose, for sure,” said first-year coach Tina Ellertson. “But when you look at the whole season, it was a win.”
It was a season that almost didn’t come to pass. The Knights needed approval from the WIAA to allow them to bring up seven eighth-graders, including Ellertson’s daughter, MacKenzie.
“We threw them to the wolves, but they learned quickly, and they were a huge piece of what we accomplished,” said Tina Ellertson, a former U.S. National Team member. “I’m so proud of what we did this year.”
After beating Eatonville in Saturday’s district final, the Knights’ reward was a matchup with the two-time defending state champion Pumas (13-2-3), who’d lost to rival Seattle Academy in their district semifinals.
U-Prep controlled the match almost from the opening whistle, finishing with 16 shots to King’s Way Christian’s 0.
“The way they attacked the flanks, we couldn’t deal with that,” Ellertson said. “We couldn’t get into a rhythm and find the game.”
Still, the Knights defense bent but didn’t break until the 53rd minute, when goalie Halle Colf knocked down Clara Erickson’s shot from the top of the penalty area but watched helplessly as the ball trickled over the goal line.
“We had been defending our bums off, and that goal shocked the girls,” Ellertson said.
U-Prep added a second goal off a free kick by Hannah Reynolds 12 minutes later, then sealed the win with a stoppage-time goal by Abby Kauff.
“It’s sad to be done, but this season was the most fun season I’ve ever had, from club to ODP to high school,” said senior Heidi Fronk, voted the Trico Most Valuable Player over the weekend.
Fronk was an eighth-grader on King’s Way Christian’s debut season five years ago, and she enjoyed being a leader and a mentor to all the youngsters this season.
“This was the first time for us to make it this far,” said Fronk, who’ll play at Montana State-Billings next year. “I’m excited to see how much this team improves in the future.”
