Tri-Cities grad and former Pasco soccer star leads WWU to national title
Claire Potter has had a great first season for the Western Washington University women’s soccer team.
The freshman started every match for the Vikings this season, playing forward.
And on Saturday night, Potter — who graduated last June from Tri-Cities Prep and played girls soccer at Pasco High School — scored the game-winning goal Saturday night to give Western a 2-1 victory over West Chester in the NCAA Division II championship game in Seattle.
The match was tied at 1-1 — Potter also assisted on Western’s other goal earlier — when it got late, and started looking like it might go to overtime.
But in the 82nd minute, Potter took a pass to the right side of the 18-yard box. She fired a shot at a tight angle towards the net, and it went over the keeper perfectly and into the net for the game-winner.
“My goal in that moment was to create another chance,” Potter told WWU’s sports information department after the game. “I sprinted after it and tried to chip the keeper — whether somebody else was going to get on the other end of it or not — and it ended up in the back of the net.”
It was WWU’s second national title in the past seven years, as the Vikings also won the championship in 2016.
The Vikings had entered the national tournament this year as the No. 3 seed, and finished with a 19-2-4 record.
West Chester was the tournament’s No. 1-seeded team, had come into the title game undefeated, and finished with a 23-1-1 record.
The Vikings outshot the Golden Rams 25-3 in the title game.
Potter finished the season second on the team in shots (62) and shots on goal (32). She had 5 goals and 4 assists, for 14 points this year.
MCC girls soccer
Kamiakin, Chiawana and Richland dominated the Mid-Columbia Conference all-conference girls soccer team that was released last month.
Kamiakin senior forward Kate Christian, who is headed to Utah State University next fall, was named MCC Player of the Year.
Kamiakin’s Chris Erikson was named MCC Coach of the Year.
Other Braves on the first team besides Kate Christian are senior midfielder Hannah Whitemarsh and two defenders: senior Brooke Woodhouse and junior Nicole Wertenberger.
Chiawana had senior forwards Emma Haertling and Ava Suarez, senior midfielder Sierra Larios, and senior defender Emma Ellerd on the first team.
Richland’s four players on the first team are junior forward Bella Bunnage, senior defender Savannah Crithfield, senior midfielder Kelsey Fulton, and junior goalkeeper Alyssa Marsh.
Also on the first team are Southridge junior midfielder Chloe Bond and Walla Walla senior midfielder Kaitlyn King.
▪ Meanwhile, Erikson’s Kamiakin squad ended up placing third in the 4A state tournament a few weeks ago.
The Braves lost in the semifinals to Issaquah by a 4-0 score.
But they bounced back to beat Woodinville 6-1 in the third-place game. Kate Christian scored two goals, her sister Brooke Christian also scored two goals, while Margot Massey and Mya Lee each added counters in the win.
Skyline ended up winning the state title, beating Issaquah 2-0 in the championship game on Nov. 19.
Prep football
Winning state titles just doesn’t get old for Wiley Allred and his Royal High School football team.
The Knights won their third consecutive Class 1A state title on Saturday, beating Mount Baker 35-20.
Royal scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, snapping a 14-14 tie.
In that stretch, Dylan Allred fired a 6-yard TD pass to Lance Allred, tossed a 4-yard scoring strike to Bennett Brown, and then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run himself.
The Knights won despite turning over the football over four times.
But Dylan Allred had a great performance: 16 for 26 for 194 yards passing with 4 TD passes; 10 carries for 84 yards rushing; 9 tackles at linebacker, with a QB sack and a tackle for loss.
Edgar Delarosa added 8 catches for 73 yards.
Mount Baker’s Marcques George rushed 25 times for 248 yards, with two touchdowns.
Royal has now one 11 state football titles in its school history — 2022, 2021 (there were no title games in 2020 due to COVID), 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2000, and 1996.
▪ State title game notes:
In 4A, No. 2 Lake Stevens beat No. 4 Kennedy Catholic 24-22.
In 3A, top seed Yelm beat No. 2 Eastside Catholic 20-13. If you get a chance, watch the video of the game-winning play. It’s amazing. Yelm — which beat Southridge and then Kennewick in the first two rounds of the playoffs — trailed 13-12 with under a minute to play and about 55 yards away. The Tornados quarterback fired a deep pass downfield for senior Kyler Ronquillo. But it was overthrown, and intercepted by a Crusaders defensive back. However, Ronquillo kept running, ripped the football out of the DB’s hands and ran it in for a touchdown.
In the 2A title game, top-ranked Lynden beat No. 3 North Kitsap 31-24.
In 2B action, No. 1 Napavine won again, beating No. 2 Okanogan 41-27.
In the 1B championship, No. 5 Liberty Bell beat No. 2 Neah Bay 50-12. Jeff Lidey, a Richland High grad, is the head coach at Liberty Bell.
College update
▪ Ryan Lowry (Chiawana) was named the first-team All-Frontier Conference football team recently. Lowry, a redshirt sophomore, was Montana Tech’s kicker this season. The Diggers went 7-3 this fall.
He was 11 for 16 on field goals, with 42 yards his longest. He was also 44 for 45 in extra point kicks. On kickoffs, Lowry averaged 61 yards over 65 attempts, and he had 38 touchbacks.
▪ Fifth-year senior Ashtin Olin (Chiawana) completed her stellar volleyball career recently at Sacramento State.
Olin, a setter, had a team-best 1,123 assists this season for the 15-15 Hornets, who were eliminated from the Big Sky Conference tournament last week in a 3-2 loss to Northern Colorado.
She was also No. 2 on the team in service aces (34) and digs (311), and she was third on the team in total blocks, with 91.
Olin was named second-team All-Big Sky Conference for the fifth consecutive season.
She also ends her career as one of the Hornets’ best players of all-time.
She finished her five years with 4,335 assists, 1,208 digs, 265 blocks, 261 kills, and 146 service aces.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
