Lake Washington girls soccer rolls into state semifinals

The Kangs keep rolling — right into the state final four.

Lake Washington’s girls soccer team defeated Snohomish, 4-1, in the first round of the 3A state tournament on Nov. 13 on the Kangs’ home pitch and then knocked off Roosevelt, 3-0, on the road on Nov. 16 to punch their ticket to the semifinals.

LW (16-1-1) will take on Central Kitsap (9-4-3) at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Sparks Stadium in Puyullap. The final is set for 2 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Sparks.

LW led 3-0 after 25 minutes against Snohomish (11-3-2) and received goals on the night from Savannah Walenczak with two and Kylie Jones and Ellie Pederson with one each. Assists were from Jones, Alex Mueller and Jen Estes.

LW got solid defense from Mueller, CC Maloof, Ashley Mead and Ari Issa. Jones’ play at center forward was crucial as she worked well with Estes and Walenczak, and Bella Davis was key at possessing the ball and organizing the midfield, said head coach Ashton Staudacher.

Against Roosevelt, Estes tallied twice and Pederson scored once, and assists came from Jones, Maloof and Anna Schwisow. The Kang defense of Maloof, Mead, Issa, Mueller and goalkeeper Natalie Neils blanked Roosevelt, which scored 65 goals this season.

“We are so excited to be in the position we are, the girls are fired up and ready to focus on the next game. We have continued to focus on our team goals and each player on our roster is so bought in. This truly is my favorite group of kids I have ever coached,” Staudacher added.