Cheers go up as Laura Barnes nears the net, then fires a ball over the keeper’s head and right under the crossbar for a score.
“We just had to win,” the senior explained her shot, which drew cheers from teammates on both sides of the drill. “I had to get something done.”
Getting things done should come easy to Barnes, a team captain and a likely standout player for the Mount Si women’s soccer team this fall.
“She’s a very aggressive forward,” said assistant coach Ben Tomlisson, who expects Barnes, “a real go-to player,” to put plenty of balls away over the next few months.
Barnes isn’t the only deeply experienced player on the women’s team.
Twin sisters Brittany and Taylor Duncan, both seniors, bring depth and a family feel—their older brother Sean helped the boys team get to the quarterfinals in 2009.
The Duncans say hard work and team play will get them back to the playoffs, where Mount Si reached the first round last year.
They played on the same Issaquah club this summer.
“You always have someone with you; you always have each other’s back,” Taylor said of the twin approach.
A young, but more experienced than her years, sophomore Sophia Rouches brings good control and fitness as a striker. Soccer means a lot to her.
“I’ve been playing my whole life,” Rouches said. “It’s a part of me.”
She says the team is stronger than in past years, and expects success. Rouches has her eye on Kingco and districts.
As a sophomore on varsity, “it’s difficult, but I’ve been working hard on my own time.”
“I’d like to see us score a lot of goals and be in good condition, a good fitness team.”
“The girls are real hungry,” head coach Darren Brown said. “”We’ve got a great group, they’ve worked very hard. I like this team. If we stay healthy, we’re going to be very good.”
Barnes said the team already has good chemistry. Now, “we’ve got show it on the field.”
“We’re going to go to state,” she says. “We’re going to have a really fun time.”
On goal
At the net, senior Sophie Rockow and junior Courtney Cowan will split halves.
Rockow, a who had a strong performance in track running events and went to districts this past spring, is “a phenomenal athlete,” Tomlisson said.
“It’s a lot more intense than JV,” said Rockow, who was moved up this season. “It’s exciting.”
Besides blocking balls, Cowan wants to see a more vocal, aggressive team.
She wants “to let my girls know what’s going on on the field, to talk more, and be more of a presence.”
• You can follow the team’s home page at http://mshsgirlssoccer.com/
Mount Si volleyball varsity roster
• Courtney Cowan, GK, junior
• Claire Johnson, D, freshman
• Trina Eck, D, senior
• Ivy Paradissis, MF, sophomore
• Maddy Hutchison, F, sophomore
• Sophia Rouches, F, sophomore
• Laura Barnes (Captain, MF), senior
• Claire Larsen, MF, junior
• Taylor Duncan, (Captain, D), senior
• Leah Corra, D, sophomore
• KiKi Olsson, D, sophomore
• Miranda Rawlings, (Captain, MF), junior
• Alyssa Proudfoot, F, junior
• Kelsey Lindor, MF, sophomore
• Kristen Kasel, F, sophomore
• Brittany Duncan, (Captain, D), senior
• Sophia Rockow, GK, senior
• Michaela Wallace, MF, freshman
