Franklin Pierce's soccer team has played 19 games. They haven't lost yet

Brandon Henry realized what this Franklin Pierce High School soccer team could be back in March.

In the four years the Cardinals coach has been leading the varsity, his team had not beaten 2A powerhouse Fife in regulation. But on this day, Franklin Pierce prevailed, 2-0.

"I think we started to know we had something special then," Henry said. "Everyone just really bought in. Every practice has been super focused."

Showing the win over their South Puget Sound League rival was no fluke, Franklin Pierce shut out Fife again in April as part of a string of a season-high five consecutive shutouts, and won an outright 2A SPSL Mountain Division title.

Saturday, the Cardinals shut out Highline to claim the 2A West Central District title and keep their undefeated streak alive as they return to the state playoffs for the first time in five years, sporting an impressive 17-0-2 record.

Franklin Pierce meets East Valley of Spokane (9-8-2) in the first round at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at its home stadium.

"Since our freshman year, we’ve been one game away from state," said forward Gilbert De La Luz, the squad's standout forward who was named the Mountain Division MVP this season.

"This is our first time to state. And going into state undefeated? It’s just something special."

Henry points to the leadership from his two captains, seniors De La Luz and Noah Carver, as a big reason why an otherwise young group has had so much success.

"We have a lot of underclassmen starting, we’re still a young team," Henry said. "We just have some special older guys. We’ve had great leadership this year. It really makes the job easy."

De La Luz and Carver are standout players for the Cardinals at opposite ends of the field.

De La Luz is a crafty forward who leads Franklin Pierce with with 23 goals and 10 assists.

He plays as a midfielder for his club team, Washington Premier FC, but said transitioning into more of an attacking role for high school ball feels natural.

His vision on the field and awareness for defenders can give opposing teams fits.

"Gilbert is super motivated, and dedicated and invested," Henry said. "He's always doing whatever he can to make himself a better player, and that shows on the field."

"He’s just so dangerous, he’s so smooth. He can dribble by guys, he’s scored set-piece goals this year, he’s scored header goals this year. He can just do everything."

The anchor of the defense is Carver, who at 6-foot-3, swallows up goals by being aggressive.

Carver, the Mountain Division's keeper of the year, averages five saves per game. He hasn't allowed a goal in the past three contests and has 12 shutouts this season.

"Noah is a commanding presence," Henry said. "Any cross that comes in, any corner that comes in, any service, Noah is going to come get it."

Carver preserved his latest shutout and district title win by swatting away a ball with just over nine minutes to play in Saturday's game.

"I just see the guy breaking through," he said. "I pay attention to myself and what I should be doing, coming out fast and quick, and just watching his feet until he takes that shot.

"And hopefully my hands are there quick enough to make the save."

Henry paused for a moment after Saturday's win to consider how big of an impact his two captains make on this squad.

"I'm just really going to miss these guys," he said.

De La Luz and Carver both said they'll miss the camaraderie of high school soccer, and are proud of the effort from the underclassmen that have helped propel them to the state playoffs.

"We all go to school together, we’re all friends," Carver said. "The chemistry we bring to the field, and how close we are, everybody wants to do great for each other."

As the state playoffs begin De La Luz said, while the Cardinals know they're capable of competing with the state's best, they'll have to fight through every minute of each match to advance.

"We’re just going to come out strong knowing if we lose one game we’ll be out," De La Luz said. "Every practice we have moving forward is going to be better.

"That will help us have better games, concentrate more and come out stronger to go as far as we can."

This story was originally published May 14, 2018 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Franklin Pierce's soccer team has played 19 games. They haven't lost yet."