Puyallup’s Dean Williams is The News Tribune’s All-Area soccer player of the year
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All-Area High School Sports Teams: Spring ’23
Our sports staff has completed its spring sports All-Area teams and named players of the year.
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The Dean Williams era in Puyallup truly began in 2021, early in the season’s introductory mini-camps. The future Vikings star, then just a sophomore, instantly impressed coach Matt White and assistants in the opening minutes of his high school career (the pandemic had erased Williams’ freshman season entirely).
It wasn’t long before everyone took notice of Williams, the skilled midfielder dangerous in the open field with a keen vision for what’s to come. Before he notched a single high school game under his belt — and only minutes into warmups — a junior varsity coach approached White while Williams dazzled in practice: “I kind of like this kid. I’m gonna (start) him.”
White wasn’t so sure Williams would ever put on a junior varsity uniform to begin with. Puyallup’s coach turned back to his assistants: “You know what? You will never see him again.”
“Well, he’s too young (for varsity),” an assistant replied.
“And I go, ‘Look what he does with the ball,’” White said back.
Williams soon became the most dominant force in the 4A SPSL, and Puyallup’s most recent season went “as far as Dean could go,” White said. Always double-teamed, Williams maneuvered defenders and created opportunities in a way others couldn’t.
A senior — his high school playing career complete — Williams guided Puyallup to a 4A state-championship appearance and second-place trophy in 2023. He netted 13 goals and tallied 20 assists this season and was involved in each and every offensive stat in Puyallup’s four state games, either assisting or scoring himself.
Williams is The News Tribune’s All-Area Soccer Player of the Year.
“I’ve been here for four years now, and every single time, all coaches were always super supportive and always wanting the best for each one of the players,” Williams said. “And then, my teammates. I mean, one person can’t bring someone to the finals, right?”
The ultimate play-creator, Williams was doubled as early as non-competitive, preseason games. Puyallup’s 4A SPSL first-teamer facilitated dead ball plays and captured the attention of those who watched him, described by White: “Dean is that kind of athlete, that kind of player that does things with a ball that are special… that everyone just goes, ‘Well, it’s gonna turn out cool.’”
His standout playoff run began in No. 8 Puyallup’s first state contest on May 17, deadlocked in penalty kicks with No. 9 Wenatchee following a 1-1 draw. Williams, who typically shot left, heard a Wenatchee coach instruct the opposing keeper, emphatically, to “commit.”
In a moment’s notice, Williams changed plans and sent Puyallup’s first penalty kick straight down the middle. Wenatchee’s keeper dove out of position.
“I was just trusting that he was going to listen to his coach,” Williams recalled, “and I went down the middle.”
Puyallup keeper Alexis Cruz-Hernandez denied Wenatchee’s first attempt and the Vikings nailed all five penalty shots to advance to the 4A quarterfinals. Williams’ intuition sparked the rally.
“Even when we went down, everyone worked harder, and everyone wanted to win,” Williams said. “We found the back of the net every time we needed to. When we went to PKs, all of us knew that... win or lose, we’re going to be teammates still. We weren’t scared to lose during PKs.”
No. 8 Puyallup upended top-ranked Newport in the quarterfinals, 3-2, and soon began preparing for Davis in the 4A semifinals. White sent Williams film of their upcoming opponent, to which the Vikings midfielder told his coach: “The Spanish Cut is on.”
One of Puyallup’s offensive schemes, Williams studied and discovered White’s exact gameplan on his own.
“I hadn’t even said that yet,” White said, almost confused. “I was going to come talk about it (to the team). But (Dean) comes and goes, ‘Yeah, Spanish Cut is on.’
“And what’s the first ball he plays? A Spanish Cut. And right to who? Zack Robertson, who scores. And I go, ‘Wow.’”
Williams found Puyallup’s Robertson on the left side for a ninth-minute score, which gave the Vikings an early lead before they prevailed, again, in penalty kicks. In the state championship game at Sparks Stadium on May 27, No. 6 Skyline emerged from a scoreless, halftime draw for a 2-0 victory over Puyallup in the title game.
A glaring indicator of grit and fight, Puyallup held a lead for only seven combined minutes through four state matches and, still, hoisted the runner-up trophy. Williams was doubled for every possession — dating back to the preseason.
“Every year, he came with something unique and new that was through improvement, constant improvement,” White said. “I mean, how many kids put in that kind of work?
“And it’s not just the work. You can just see he enjoys the game. He enjoys playing. He enjoys what he can do with the ball. He enjoys what happens.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
