Fife girls soccer won back to back titles in 2007 and 2008 — can they return to glory?

First, it was the 2A South Puget Sound League title, then came the 2A District 2/3 championship for the Fife High School girls’ soccer team. The Trojans won a 2-1 match against a North Kitsap team that took them to an eighth kicker in penalty kicks to decide the champion.

What’s next on their list? After the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association decides where Fife is seeded in the state playoffs, it will be to not only compete for a state championship but to win one.

The last time the Trojans hoisted up a championship trophy for girls’ soccer was in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008, when coach Ryann Waldman was still playing for Fife. As her team inches closer to a state title, they remind Waldman of her championship squad.

“I played on the Fife High School teams that won in those two years,” Waldman said. “As a player that’s been there and seen what it takes to get there and as I look at the girls I have in front of me right now, I see a lot of similarities from the team that I played on to the team that I’m coaching right now. Do I think that they can get [to state]? Yes, but we have a whole lot of soccer to play before we get there.”

It was no easy task for the Trojans to put away the Vikings in their match-up. Boasting a strong defense and solid playmakers, North Kitsap got on the board early after senior Kamora McMillian scored within the first 15 minutes of the match.

After the Vikings scored their only goal, the Trojan defense shifted to trying to control McMillian’s breakthroughs on the back end. Of course, her goal was the only one scored and the Trojan defense stepped up.

Leading that defensive upswing was sophomore midfielder Aleigha Woodland, who played the entire game running from box to box.

“She was I’m sure exhausted by the end. She played the entire game, she ran end-zone to end-zone, and she did everything. [Woodland] played fantastic today,” Waldman said. “She scored our first goal and Kaylee Mithun assisted… At halftime, I told the girls the biggest thing we will have to do is dominate the air. Once we do that, we will control the ball more. And my girls definitely came out in the second half taking that to heart.”

Woodland scored the equalizer for the Trojans late in the second half with about 20 minutes left in the game. It came off a ball from the Trojans’ leading scorer, junior midfielder Kaylee Mithun.

With the match tied up, the Trojans’ defense kept holding up their defensive adjustments and winning balls in the air. Even through overtime, neither team could break through.

Enter penalty kicks.

“It was the second game in a row where we beat our opponent in PKs. We beat White River and then North Kitsap. It was stressful for sure but also very exciting,” Waldman said. “We went to the eighth shooter, it was a lot. My girl missed first so we were down one from the very beginning. Then they missed their fifth shot, so that put us in the second round of shooters. It was pretty crazy.”

The Trojans won the game when junior defender Brooke Mittelstaedt scored the seventh straight penalty goal for her team.

Fife does not know who they will play against in the WIAA 2A state finals. But after an exhausting win over the Vikings, the Trojans will be ready to make their run.

This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 1:34 PM.