Bear Creek’s girls soccer team had a wild ride at the end of last season.
After finishing fourth in the 1A Emerald City League, the Grizzlies defeated Northwest, 2-1, in a wild-card match to qualify for districts, where they dispatched Lynden Christian, 2-1, in the first round. However, University Prep knocked off Bear Creek, 1-0, in the next district match to leave the locals one win shy of a state berth in a season-ending contest.
Coach Ryan Byram, whose squad graduated six seniors and had one player transfer, feels this year’s edition of the Grizzlies can make some noise in league and beyond once again.
“It’s how we play at the end of the season,” he said of the team’s theme. “Continuing to improve our defense as the season goes along and developing our offense and how we create goal-scoring opportunities.”
Last year, Bear Creek finished 9-8 overall and 5-7 in league. At press time, Bear Creek was 0-1-1 overall and will travel to Okanogan for a match tomorrow.
Top returners are Abigail Linnenkohl, a senior center midfielder who was a second-team all-league defender last year; and junior defenders Sophie Schroth, Delaney Montgomery and Hallie Mott. Junior Michelle Patten is the starting goalkeeper and saw some action in the net last year while graduate Maya Shipway played in the field.
Byram said the Linnenkohl is an aggressive player who is good at getting balls in the air. She’ll help lead the offense and settle things down in the midfield.
Schroth, Montgomery and Mott are also aggressive, have all grown as a defensive unit and will solidify the Grizzlies’ backline, the coach said. As for Patten, she got in a lot of practice with standout Shipway last year and is set in her keeper position.
Top newcomers are freshmen starters Kate Bieber, an outside midfielder; Katie Kranz, a forward; and Claire Petrin, a defender.
VOLLEYBALL
Bear Creek’s volleyballers may have lost their first match of the season, but they went head to head with Glacier Peak in an epic battle. After losing the first two games, Bear Creek stormed back to win two straight before dropping a close game, 16-14, to end the match.
“We left everything out on the court. We functioned so well as a unit,” said coach Leanne Bartz, who noted that match has the girls excited about what’s to come for Bear Creek this season. And they did it with sophomore setter Melanie Carlson, who filled in for senior setter Molly Anderson, a top returner who was ill.
Bartz said that Anderson is a natural, smart leader with strong hands from playing softball. “And she has this hustle we really need out there,” the coach added. Anderson helped lead the Grizzlies to three key victories last season to keep the team in the 1A Emerald City League’s upper division.
Other top returners are senior left-handed opposite hitter Krista Geiger, junior middle blocker Katherine Cook and sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Marcus.
According to Bartz, Geiger is an intense player with a vicious jump serve; Cook is a strong and energetic blocker; and Marcus, a former libero and league rookie of the year last season, has a solid swing. Geiger returns to the court after sustaining a knee injury last year.
Also making key contributions have been sophomore outside hitter Camille Decker, a transfer from Redmond High; sophomore libero Kathryn Horvath; and sophomore outside hitter Abby Campbell. Decker had eight kills against Glacier Peak and Campbell added six kills.
Bear Creek was 0-3 at press time and will play in the Sundome Tournament today in Yakima.
