1A State Boys Soccer: King's Way Christian's season ends in shootout heartbreak
May 22-The final whistle brought Cooper Sprague and many of the King's Way Christian boys soccer players to the ground on their home turf Friday night.
For Sprague, the pain of the Knights' shootout loss in the Class 1A boys soccer state playoffs carried far beyond 80 minutes of regulation, two golden-goal overtimes and seven rounds of penalty kicks. Along with the heartbreak of King's Way's season ending came the realization that his five-year journey with the program - dating back to his eighth-grade season - had suddenly come to a close.
"Knowing I'm not going to have the simple things, like the van memories and driving up to places with all my friends," the senior center back said through tears after King's Way's 1-0 (6-5 shootout) loss to University Prep of Seattle. "Playing this game with all my brothers - they're all my best friends. I couldn't ask for more.
"Even though it ended this way, it's God's plan."
King's Way and University Prep battled through a scoreless 80 minutes of regulation and two tense five-minute golden-goal overtime periods before going to a shootout. The 1A Trico League does not use shootouts during the regular season, meaning Friday marked the Knights' first of the year. Still, senior goalkeeper Barrett Brahmer embraced the pressure in goal and became inspired when hearing the King's Way crowd chant his first name throughout the shootout.
"I love the pressure," said Brahmer, who made five saves during regulation and overtime. "One of my favorite lines is, 'Pressure makes diamonds.'"
The teams remained deadlocked at 5-5 after five rounds apiece before chaos unfolded in the sixth. Moments after making a save on King's Way's sixth attempt, UPrep goalkeeper August Reed was issued a red card.
That's when UPrep turned to defender Maxwell Cook - who had already converted a kick earlier in the shootout - to go in goal with Reed's gloves. On King's Way's ensuing attempt, Cook dove to his left to make a save, setting up a sudden-death opportunity for the Pumas.
William Lendvay buried the next attempt to send the defending 1A state champs into a celebration frenzy. They'll face Cascade Christian of Puyallup in Saturday's 2 p.m. state quarterfinal back at King's Way.
King's Way's senior class leaves behind the most accomplished stretch in program history, helping lead the Knights to four consecutive state tournament appearances, a third-place state finish in 2025 and the program's first-ever district title last week.
Sprague said last year's senior class - which helped bring home the Knights' first state trophy - laid the foundation for this year's success.
"We know we're a smaller school, but we work really hard," Sprague said. "We all encourage each other. We have a bond like no other."
That belief carried King's Way Christian through another memorable postseason run.
"The last two years, we've made history," Brahmer said. "It feels really good to look back and say, 'We did that.'"
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