EVERETT — The Archbishop Murphy boys soccer team wasn’t playing for a 2A state berth. The Wildcats weren’t playing for a spot in the district championships.
In fact, the guys on the Archbishop Murphy team weren’t even playing for themselves.
They were playing for Kristi.
The Wildcats, whose classmate Kristi Bartz passed away over the weekend, made it known what their motivation was in Tuesday night’s 2A district semifinal game against Shorecrest. Archbishop Murphy retired Bartz’s No. 4 jersey and gave it to her family prior to the game, a sign was hanging on the fence and players had her name written on athletic tape.
The Wildcats honored their friend with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Shorecrest that sends Archbishop Murphy to the district title game and back to the 2A state tournament for the seventh consecutive season.
“Playing for Kristi. That’s what we did. That’s our mission,” said sophomore Matt Williams, who scored the game’s first goal for Archbishop Murphy. “… It was a whole different motivation to come out here with the fans. We were playing for a lot more than just a win. We were playing for our crowd and everybody. We had a lot more behind us tonight.”
“We’re always here for our school and community,” added senior Kenny Ficklin. “And it’s awesome to go win a game for them.”
Wildcats’ head coach Mike Bartley, who also coaches the girls team which included Bartz, talked to Archbishop Murphy athletic director Erick Streelman about retiring Bartz’s jersey. Bartley got the girls team together and the idea was met with unanimous approval.
“Everybody thought it was a great idea, the family thought it was a great idea, so we just thought this was a great opportunity to do that tonight,” Bartley said. “With this big game here at home.”
Bartz was one of Bartley’s senior captains and a first-team all-Cascade Conference midfielder.
But, more importantly, Bartley said Bartz was just a world-class individual.
“Awesome, awesome person,” Bartley said. “You can see the emotion and how everybody feels about her. We all love her and we definitely will miss her.”
As for the game, it lived up to the hype. In a matchup that both teams were looking forward to all season, the Wesco 3A/2A South champion Scots took on Cascade Conference-winning Archbishop Murphy. The teams had allowed just 10 goals combined all a season, and came into Tuesday’s contest with a combined record of 31-1-2.
“We got a chance to prove ourselves tonight,” Bartley said. “These guys all play with those guys on their select teams. They wanted this game because they wanted to prove to everybody that they could hang with one of the best, and Shorecrest is one of the best.”
Williams got the Wildcats on the scoreboard with a shot from about 30 yards out in the 49th minute that found the top far corner of the net. The goal impressed many, including Shorecrest head coach Drew Thompson.
“You’ve got to give some credit to (Williams). What a hell of a shot,” Thompson said. “When you can make a shot like that you deserve to win a game.”
Williams shot was almost one out of desperation, according to the sophomore.
“I wasn’t fast enough to outrun him,” Williams said, “so I just kicked it and hoped for the best.”
Archbishop Murphy (17-0-1), which remains unbeaten this season, added another goal in the 56th minute on a header by junior Brady Henderson — who wears No. 4 for the Archbishop Murphy boys team.
“He’s very strong on the ball,” Bartley said. “He’s just an excellent player.”
Shorecrest (15-2-1) will face Squalicum in a loser-out game Thursday at Sedro-Woolley High School. Shorecrest and Squalicum are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in 2A by MaxPreps.com.
“We just have to go win a game,” Thompson said. “In order to get to state, you’ve got to win one. We’re going to play a tough game against, probably Squalicum. We have to just regroup and go play again. This is a good team. These guys have more fight in them. They’re not done yet.”
The Wildcats will face Sedro-Woolley in the district championship game at a to-be-determined time on Saturday. And while the Wildcats are hoping to continue their winning ways, they’re also going to continue to play for Kristi.
“I’m just really proud of them for the way they played this game, with all the circumstances going on. Everybody knew this game was for Kristi,” Bartley said. “They wanted to play their best. Kristi’s in our hearts and I’m just glad for everybody, that we were able to do this tonight.”
At Archbishop Murphy H.S.
Goals—Matt Williams (AM), Brady Henderson (AM). Assists—Gabe Astone (AM). Goalkeepers—Shorecrest: Matt Wheaton, Spencer Haddenham-Gibler. Archbishop Murphy: Ryan Henderson. Records—Shorecrest 15-2-1. Archbishop Murphy 17-0-1.
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