Southridge falls to Seattle Prep 1-0 in 3A state soccer title match

Southridge High School’s quest to win the Class 3A girls state soccer title fell short Saturday in Puyallup, as the Suns lost 1-0 to Seattle Prep at Sparks Stadium.

Prep’s Sophie Hirst found the net at the 51:30 mark of the match. She drove from left to right, then shot across from 18 yards out, beating Suns keeper Tiara Valadez for the game’s only goal.

Southridge couldn’t muster much offense against the stingy Prep defense.

The Suns were unable to get a shot off in the first half, while Prep had eight.

“They were the best high school soccer team I have ever seen,” Southridge coach Greg Sambrano said via telephone. “They were phenomenal. We battled, and they put us under pressure. Our kids battled and battled all game long.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to them. They’re phenomenal. We just couldn’t find a weakness.”

And yet the match was still scoreless at halftime.

Emma Schutt got a scoring opportunity early in the second half for Southridge, but her shot went high.

It wasn’t until about 6 minutes later that Hirst broke free for her goal.

From that point on, the Suns got just two more attempts to score.

Kendall Pope’s shot was stopped by Prep keeper Audrey Aggen about 4 minutes after Hirst’s goal.

And with just a few minutes left in the match, Haley Thomas’ attempt came in too high.

The Panthers finished with a 22-0-1 record. Saturday’s win was their 17th shutout of the season.

Southridge, which lost 2-1 to Edmonds-Woodway in last year’s state title match, finished the season 20-3.

“Part of me was (surprised we did so well this season) because of our early loss of McKaley (Goffard, last year’s team scoring leader),” Sambrano said. “On the flip side of that, it forced us to play as a team.”

Which they did.

“I just told them after the game that I was really proud,” Sambrano said. “We left it on the field. Hopefully next year, we’ll continue to build off the success that we’ve had, continue to play as a team.”

KING’S 4, CONNELL 0: The Eagles (15-7) finished their season with a fourth-place state trophy after losing to the Knights (16-2-4) at Shoreline Stadium.

Connell goalkeeper Morgan Smith, who had six saves in Friday’s Class 1A semifinal loss to Cascade (Leavenworth), stopped 10 shots against King’s.

The Eagles made their first trip to the state Final Four since 2009.

This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Southridge falls to Seattle Prep 1-0 in 3A state soccer title match."