Overlake’s girls soccer squad blasted out of the gate with a 3-0 record this season, including a 4-3 victory over University Prep in a thrilling see-saw match on Tuesday in front of the Owls’ home crowd.
Sophomore forward Janna Basra cracked the back of the net with the game winner in the final minute. Sophomore midfielder Jaquelin Nordhoff assisted on Basra’s goal and added two of her own, freshman forward Smith Hunter tallied a goal and junior defender Kate McConnell and sophomore defender Kayla Ngai had assists.
Coach Sally Goodspeed’s squad qualified for the state tournament last year after taking third place in the 1A Emerald City League and advancing to bi-districts. The Owls finished 8-3-1 in league and 12-5-1 overall and made it to state for the seventh time during Goodspeed’s tenure.
The team is looking solid this season.
“There’s a good team chemistry developing,” Goodspeed said. “Everyone’s contributing and that makes it a really good environment.”
Both Nordhoff and sophomore forward Alex Hobbs were first-team all-leaguers last year and McConnell was a second-teamer.
Goodspeed said that Nordhoff — the league’s rookie of the year last season — is a tireless player and is the “glue” between and the midfield and defense; Hobbs is speedy and makes good decisions when the ball is at her feet; and McConnell is a dependable leader.
Newcomer Hunter is making an impact with her tenacity and fearless play.
“She’s in the right place at the right time and gets into dangerous positions in the attack,” said Goodspeed, who was the league’s coach of the year last season.
In the Owls’ other two wins over La Salle of Yakima (2-0) and King’s Way Christian of Vancouver (1-0), sophomore midfielder Liv Sather scored along with Hunter and Basra. Senior goalkeeper Julia Noble notched the shutouts.
VOLLEYBALL
Eduardo Guerrero may be Overlake’s volleyball coach, but he points his players toward what one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time has to say.
The first-year Owl coach has the girls reading one of former UCLA hardcourt leader John Wooden’s popular books about sports and life to provide motivation. At the beginning of each practice, Guerrero asks one girl to read a paragraph from the book and tell everyone what the passage means to her. One of Wooden’s famous quotes is, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
“They get to know each other better,” Guerrero said of one of his team-bonding exercises. Another one is giving each other high-fives while rattling off their favorite restaurant or ice-cream flavor.
Overlake, which finished 9-2 and in third place in the 1A Emerald City League last year, was 1-0 in league and 2-1 overall at press time. In a three-set victory over Bear Creek on Monday, freshman outside hitter Marusia Levanidova had eight kills, senior outside hitter Sara Kern had seven aces and sophomore middle blocker Allie Kelly had seven kills and six aces. Both Kern, a second-team all-leaguer last year, and Kelly are the Owls’ tallest players at 5-foot-11 each.
Along with Kern and Kelly, Overlake’s other top returners are senior setter Sela Dragich, senior right-side player Kiera Sullivan and junior libero Liv Sather, also a second-team all-leaguer last year.
Guerrero, who coached at Kentlake High the last two years, has been enjoying his new gig and watching the girls compete hard in practice and in matches. It’s been challenging to have just nine girls on the squad, but they’re making the most of it.
He’s excited to talk about the Owls, noting that Kern is a reliable player with a solid hitting percentage; Dragich runs the offense well and has great communication with the hitters; Sullivan and Kelly are going up strong for blocks; and Sather is a court leader who gets the offense going with digs and passes. Newcomer Levanidova is playing aggressive ball and gelling with the veterans.
The team continued rolling with a three-set victory over Seattle Christian on Wednesday. Kern amassed 18 kills and 14 digs, Sather had 29 digs and seven aces and Dragich had 21 assists.
