Fife soccer undefeated, talented all over field and eyeing 2A state championship
Fife’s players couldn’t stop the tears from flowing as they watched the Columbia River High School soccer team celebrate on the Fife Memorial Stadium field after defeating Fife in the 2021 Class 2A state tournament quarterfinals, 2-1. In the game’s dying seconds, Columbia River scored a stunning goal on a free kick to win the game and end Fife’s season.
“It was devastating,” said Fife coach Ryann Waldman. “Lots of tears and mostly just frustration that they let it get to that point. But they played well and they knew they played well.”
That moment, that feeling of disappointment set the tone for the 2022 season. All summer, Fife’s players were dedicated to spending time in the weight room and practicing together.
“This team became invested in this season at the end of last season,” Waldman said. “They were not happy with how we ended last year.”
This year, the Trojans have looked even stronger. Fife is 11-0 and has cruised through the 2A South Puget Sound League, winning all but one game by at least two goals and pitching shutouts in nine games. On the season, Fife has conceded just two goals total, outscoring opponents 58-2.
“We all have good chemistry, we’ve been playing together for a long time,” said forward Kaylee Mithun. “We’re used to everything and we connect really well on the field.”
Mithun was a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s 2021 All-Area team, when she was named the 2A SPSL MVP and scored 31 goals on the season, scoring goals in 14 of Fife’s game and posting three hat tricks. This season, the scoring has been more balanced: Abby Manolovitz leads the Trojans with 13 goals, Mithun has 11 and Bella Gonzales has nine. In total, 15 players have scored at least one goal for Fife.
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
Last year, teams were able to double team Mithun and slow down Fife’s attack. This year, that hasn’t been the case.
“Goals are coming from everywhere,” Waldman said. “When you have more threats, the teams have to respect the whole team and it opens up Kaylee for beautiful goals and opens up other players for other goals.”
Mithun remains one of the league’s most dangerous goal scorers, with high-level soccer IQ, vision and footwork. Mithun credits some of her ability to a soccer instruction program called Coerver, which teaches fundamentals and ball skills.
“I worked on doing ball mastery, on my touch,” she said. “That helped me get good control on the ball. I was playing like six days a week.”
In addition to the skillset, Waldman said Mithun’s vision and understanding of the game sets her apart from her peers.
“She can see things building before so many others,” Waldman said. “When you have that sight and vision beforehand, she scores goals because she’s in the right spot and she’s in the right spot because she can see the play unfolding.
“It’s a huge advantage for her as an offensively-minded player, but it’s also a huge advantage for the team, because she’s able to build those things for them.”
On the back line, center backs Kali Ginnis and Brooke Mittelstaedt have been lights out for the Trojans. In the midfield, Bella Gonzales wins nearly every ball in the air and Aleigha Woodland is a line-to-line player, picking her spots on offense and transitioning back to defense with ease. Hanna Reynolds has been strong in goal. The players feel there’s no real weaknesses with this year’s group. Having a core group of returners from last year’s state tournament quarterfinal team has helped.
“We realized a lot of teams have lost most of their seniors, but we didn’t lose many seniors. We feel like we have a chance of going far this year. Our movement on and off the ball — we’re battling out there.”
The goal is clear: win the 2A state title. Fife has won two state titles, winning back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008.
“We just keep on playing the game, have dedication and we’re working to get better every practice,” Mithun said.
