Committed to the same goal

 This summer, Everett FC will send its Riptide 16U girls team to compete on the national level, making them the first girls soccer team based in the Everett/Mukilteo area to qualify.

The team will travel to Denver to play in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Finals, which begin July 7. Riptide will be the only Washington team to compete this year.

Prior to this spring, the team had played under the Mukilteo Youth Soccer Club. Most players attend Kamiak High School, though a number commute for practices from Lake Stevens, Glacier Peak, Meadowdale, and other nearby areas.

Many of the players, says head coach Kyle Johnson, have been on the team for about seven years. “We have a core group of girls who are leaders in their schools first,” Johnson said. “So that natural leadership shows up on the field. They’re just really great kids all around.”

Johnson’s daughter, Ellie, is a longtime Riptide player. “We’re all just really close to each other, and there’s never a lot of drama,” she said. “It’s really nice to have this community of people that I can always reach out to.

“It doesn’t really matter who’s open, but they’ll come and play soccer with me or go on a run with me.”

The team is a close-knit group, free of cliques and comparisons. “We haven’t had to deal with any player-to-player issues, which, as a coach, is so refreshing,” coach Johnson said. “They’re all just really committed to the same goal.”

This season, Riptide’s growing reputation led to a few new additions. “It’s been cool to get some attention and get different players wanting to reach out and come to tryouts,” she said.

“At last year’s tryouts, we were able to get some new players who really made a difference on our team,” Ellie said. “With that integration of the new players, and a lot of hard work and dedication that we put in at practice, we were able to get to a place that allowed us to get to nationals.”
 
@A challenge@
 
One of the biggest challenges of this season was having to play the best team in the league, North County Youth Soccer Association, twice.

Riptide initially lost 6-1 to North County early in the season, but were one of the few teams in the league who got a chance at redemption.

“In the WA Cup, we tied them 0-0,” Ellie Johnson said with a laugh, remembering this as her favorite moment of the season.

“They were the team that got us a little bit out of our playing style and got into our heads. But at the end of the season, we were able to show them how much we’ve improved and adapted.”

Since qualifying, the team has prepared for what may be their toughest matches yet.

But the biggest challenge they’re anticipating won’t come from the other teams at NPL Finals. Instead, the coaches and players are focusing on Denver’s high altitude. “We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, a lot of sprinting and trying to get our endurance up,” Ellie said.

The preparation continues off the field. With only a month’s notice, the trip to Denver has been a financial challenge for some families. “We’re doing our best to keep costs low and doing a bit of team fundraising,” Johnson said.

The players and coaches booked their return flights for the day after the final match.

Johnson said they’re thinking optimistically. “We don’t expect to win, don’t expect to necessarily make the finals, but if you’re planning to go, you should plan for the best outcome, right?”

The team’s hopes for Denver? “I hope we dominate,” Ellie said. But she’s not necessarily focused on the possibility of winning it all.

“I’m more so hoping we’re able to really show our improvement over the season and demonstrate that we belong at nationals.”