Wilsonville girls soccer had an extremely successful 2022 season. They went 13-5-1 this year and 7-0-1 during league, making them NWOC league champions. But that’s not it. Wilsonville girls soccer was also pronounced state champions after a tough, but outstanding playoff run. Here is a quick recap of the season. 

The girls soccer team lost 9 seniors this year, with the majority of those seniors being starters. Once the class of 2021 left, there were many vital spots that needed to be filled. Senior Cassie Wedin, also the captain of the girls varsity team shared, “we had to try out a lot of people in different positions and had to switch it around in order to fill those spots.” Though many seniors did leave, the team’s main focus was to play as a unit and trust one another. 

The Wildcats started off their season with a tough loss against Caldera, a new addition to 5A. Wedin stated, “it was really hard because it was our first loss in two years which is crazy, but it just encouraged us all to fight harder and made us work harder at practices in order to get back to the top.” The game against Caldera was also before Freshman, Camryn Schaan joined the team. Schaan was a key player this season, filling the spot of the 9, which was formerly Lindsey Antonson’s position. In the first few games, including Caldera, the team played in a 4-4-2 formation to dominate the midfield. However, once new additions were made and changes in positioning took place, the formation the team began utilizing was a 4-3-3. 

After facing some of the top schools of 6A: West Linn, Tualatin, Lake Oswego, and Lincoln, the Wildcats had to get ready for league play. Before their first match against Parkrose, the team had many goals and visions going into it, “we just wanted to play as a unit and work together, we all needed to depend on each other in order to succeed. It was to also just have fun. I feel like last year we had a strict goal of just winning but this year it was more about the process and wanting to play for each other.” 

Their Parkrose game ended with an 8-0 victory, though, a challenging match against Putnam led the team to face adversity. The game started off strong, and the wildcats were winning until the last 4 minutes when Putnam was able to place the ball into the back of the net. Putnam equalized the game, ending it with a 1-1 tie. Even with a 1-0-1 record, the cats continued to prevail and dominate their league. They triumphed over Milwaukie, Hood River Valley, Hillsboro, and even their rivals, La Salle. Wedin shared, “It was so exciting, they are our biggest rivals so being able to beat them and guarantee our spot winning league was just so fun. It made our team have confidence in ourselves that we could make it all the way.” Next up was Canby, the girls last league game and senior night. They ended the day with a 4-0 victory and were declared NWOC league champions once again. As league champions, they were guaranteed a home game for the first round of playoffs. 

The Cats went into playoffs ranked as the #7 seed in state. They kicked off the first round of playoffs against the #10 seed, the Woodburn Bulldogs, and walked away with a 3-1 victory. The Cats felt united, and once again were on the road to Eugene for the quarterfinals, where they faced off the #2 Thurston Colts.

As the team arrived in Eugene, they were prepared for a physical game, but the Cats did not let that shake them. The girls all knew there was a job to be done, and went in feeling prepared. The whistle blew at kickoff, and the Cats immediately took control of the game. Halfway into the first half, Schaan placed a ball directly into the back of net, which put the Wildcats up 1-0 ending the half. The Cats never lost momentum and finished the game with a 1-0 win and are moving onto the Semifinals. 

With just three days of preparation and recovery after the Thurston game, the Cats hit the road and headed to Bend, where they would play #3, Summit Storm. With freezing temperatures, and inches of snow on the ground, the Cats were ready. Within the first half, Camryn Schaan scored, and put the Cats up 1-0. After a long second half of battling, Summit Storm also found a ball in the back of the net, ending the 80 minutes as a 1-1 tie. Then overtime started, and neither teams found themselves successful with a goal. This led them into penalty kicks, where the Cats triumphed with a 4-2 win. The Wildcats were moving onto the State Championships for the second year in a row.

The Wilsonville Wildcats were set to face #8, Crescent Valley Raiders, who the Cats had lost to in the 2019 final. With a positive mindset and a team who was all in, the Cats were ready for their rematch. Within the first ten minutes of the starting whistle, Schaan was able to get Wilsonville on the board, putting them up 1-0. At the half, the Cats were prepared to keep fighting and were fixed on not losing this game. They went into the second half with momentum, and determination, and soon after, Sophomore, Kenley Whittaker, placed the ball in the back of the net; the Cats were up 2-0. After Wilsonville’s goal, senior Abby Smith from Crescent Valley scored on the Cats. This did not change the game at all for Wilsonville, and they kept battling. When the final whistle blew, the Wilsonville Wildcats were back to back State Champions. 

Gold, shiny medals being placed in the hands of each individual, and one huge, state champion trophy being raised high in the air as the crowd roars; it was a very rewarding and memorable day for Wilsonville girls soccer. Returning to a state championship can pose different emotions, especially with a whole new team. Cassie Wedin mentioned, “I feel like we earned it more just because we faced areas of adversity, opposed to last year, which we kind of knew we were going to make it there, but this year we had to work harder to get to the top.” 

Congratulations to girls soccer for a successful 2022 season!