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The La Conner High School girls' soccer team lost its state tournament match last week. But head coach Maddie Huscher, her staff and players won the hearts of many across Washington. La Conner received much love on Thursday for hitting the road a second time for its playoff venue in Cle Elum. The team's Nov. 13 trip ended abruptly when its bus was struck by a pickup truck on I-405 in Bothell, forcing a 24-hour postponement of La Conner's date with third-seeded Cle Elum-Roslyn. No one on the bus...
Fate served up tough luck for the La Conner High School volleyball team at the Yakima SunDome last week. First, head coach Pam Keller’s charges drew top-seeded Adna in first round state 2B tournament action. Perhaps equally brutal was La Conner libero Addison Keller playing under the weather for Wednesday’s matches with the Pirates and Tri-Cities Prep. Still, La Conner battled. The NW2B/1B runners-up pushed Adna, which arrived in Yakima riding an 18-game winning streak, in a hard-fought opening set. But Adna, which finished 22-3 on the sea...
Praises continue to be sung for Sarah Cook at Skagit Valley College, much like when she was a La Conner H igh School multi-sports star. Cook, an SVC sophomore who has earned Northwest Athletic Conference honors in volleyball and basketball, is receiving more accolades this fall. A 5-foot-9 outside hitter for the Cardinal spikers, Cook was recently named to the 2024 NWAC All-Star team. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community member has been an integral part of an SVC volleyball squad that...
They're back. The young and resilient La Conner High School volleyball team, twice on the brink of post-season elimination, swept Auburn Adventist and Orcas Island on Nov. 9 to preserve the program's long streak of state tournament appearances. La Conner (15-11) faces top-seeded and undefeated Adna in first-round state 2B action at 11:45 a.m. today (Wednesday) in the Yakima SunDome. La Conner has captured multiple state net crowns, its last in 2022. The Braves are seeded 16th in the 16-team...
The 14th-seeded La Conner High School girls’ soccer team has a tall mountain to climb in this year’s post-season format. And that’s on several levels. Not only have the Braves (5-7-2) drawn No. 3 Cle Elum-Roslyn in first round state playoff action today, but La Conner must play the loser-out match on the Warriors’ home pitch on the east slope of the Cascades. The winner of the contest (5 p.m. Nov. 13) advances to play the victor between No. 11 Adna and No. 6 Mount Vernon Christian with the date and location to be determined. La Conner lost 5-...
Addison Wigal enjoyed a senior moment before she joined her La Conner volleyball teammates in a thrilling five-set home match Oct. 30 that won't soon be forgotten. Wigal, La Conner's lone senior, was honored prior to the Braves' marathon two-and-a-half-hour clash with Sedro-Woolley, which won by scoring the final three points in the decisive fifth set. "It was definitely one of our better matches of the season," La Conner head coach Pam Keller said. "It's what we needed going into...
Heartwarming and heartbreaking. Such were the results of last week’s soccer matches for La Conner. The La Conner girls improved to 4-5-2 on the season and secured a post-season berth with a thrilling 3-1 shootout-round win at NW2B/1B foe Lopez Island last Wednesday. The boys posted their third straight, single-goal, overtime loss, this time to archrival Coupeville on Nov. 1. Baylee Smith, Aisley Zimmerman and Yami Ocampo-Contreras made shootout goals for the Braves, who were locked in a shutout through regulation and two overtime periods. Z...
La Conner High School senior C.J. Edwards reigned last week as the school’s Homecoming King, but his crowning achievement came Friday night when he led the Braves to a convincing 56-26 eight-man grid victory over Muckleshoot Tribal School at Whittaker Field. Edwards, La Conner’s dual-threat quarterback, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Braves remained unbeaten at home and pushed their season mark to 3-4 while playing an independent non-conference schedule. The versatile Edwards also returned a pass interception 80 yards for...
Working overtime didn't pay off again for the hard-luck La Conner boys' soccer team. For the second straight week, the Braves fell at home in an extra session after forging a tie in regulation. This time it was state-ranked Providence Classical Christian that escaped with a 3-2 overtime win, spoiling a spirited La Conner effort in an often-physical contest played before a supportive Homecoming crowd on Oct. 25. "It was a good match," La Conner head coach Galen McKnight said afterward. "We...
Too bad close doesn’t count in volleyball. At least that’s the way La Conner High School net fans felt after NW2B/1B rival Orcas Island, led by junior middle blocker/outside hitter Sofia Jauregui, edged the Braves in a hard-fought five set Homecoming Week match at Landy James Gym Oct. 24. Jauregui delivered a team-high 18 kills and added nine digs and three blocks as the Vikings posted a 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-8 triumph over the hosts. With the win, Orcas improved to 9-7 on the season. La Conner slipped to 11-8 going into Monday nig...
The conditions couldn't have been harsher for the La Conner High School boys' soccer team when it faced NW2B/1B foe Friday Harbor at Whittaker Field on Friday. Southerly winds gusted to 45 mph, hard rain fell the entire second half and temperatures plummeted into the 40s by game's end. That wasn't the worst of it, at least emotionally. The Braves briefly led the contest in regulation until a potential Braves go-ahead goal late in the second half was disallowed on an official's questionable...
There was no place like home for the La Conner High School volleyball team last week. The Braves (10-7) defeated 1A Sultan in a seesaw, five-set, non-conference match at Landy James Gym on Oct. 15 with Nora McCormick (8) and Reese Bird (7) combining for 15 kills to lead the La Conner attack. Results were less favorable when La Conner went to Coupeville. Coach Pam Keller’s charges lost in straight sets to the NW2B/1B rival on Oct. 17. League-leading Coupeville (11-2 overall; 8-0 in NW2B/1B matches) was paced against La Conner by Teagan C...
In volleyball, as in U.S. courtrooms, the defense never rests. A prime example is La Conner High School junior libero Addison Keller, whose outstanding defensive play and clutch serving has been formally recognized by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the governing body of extra-curricular programs in the state’s schools. The WIAA has named Keller its Athlete of the Week based on her play as libero – a defensive player specializing in passing and digging – in La Conner’s recent victories over Mount Vernon Christian and Darr...
The improving La Conner Braves football team shocked the Shockers at Whittaker Field Saturday afternoon. The Braves (2-3) held Waterville-Mansfield scoreless in the second half and capitalized on key Shocker turnovers to post a 22-14 comeback triumph in non-league eight-man grid action. Senior quarterback C.J. Edwards ran for two touchdowns after the break and freshman running back Yandel Rosales-Rojas dashed 25 yards to pay dirt late in the first period to fuel the La Conner attack. It was the...
Quality overshadowed quantity when the La Conner High School volleyball team hosted its annual Dig Pink/Senior Night match last week. Defensive specialist Addison Wigal, the team’s lone senior, was celebrated as part of Oct. 8 festivities at Landy James Gym. For her part, Wigal delivered four digs and a service ace to help a young Braves lineup post a 3-1 triumph over Mount Vernon Christian. The score: 25-16, 25-13, 24-26, 25-13. Nora McCormick recorded a team-best 10 kills for the victors. Reese Bird (9), Maeve McCormick (6), Abi Poulton (...
A young team, same old results. La Conner, a longtime state 2B volleyball powerhouse, swept NW2B/1B net rival Concrete in straight sets at Landy James Gym last Thursday. The Lady Braves improved to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in conference action ahead of a Saturday road trip to Forks with its 3-0 home victory over Concrete (4-5), a convincing win marked by solid defense, crisp passing and strong hitting. The final line score was 25-16, 25-10, 25-13 in La Conner's favor. The triumph helped take the...
Unbeaten Lopez Island defeated La Conner 5-1 in an often-physical boys' soccer match at Whittaker Field Friday afternoon. The Lobos, displaying deft passing and a relentless attack, scored the contest's first three goals before Simon Bouwens got La Conner on the scoreboard by booting a line shot past the Lopez keeper less than two minutes before intermission. The visitors, who enjoyed a clear size advantage, added two unanswered goals in the second half. "They're a very good team," La Conner...
La Conner teams came away from an all-day trip to the Olympic Peninsula with a tie and two close, hard-fought defeats in non-conference sports action on Saturday. Freshman Kiana Jenkins scored La Conner’s lone soccer goal to salvage a 1-1 draw at 1A Forks in a back-and-forth matinee battle with the Spartans. With the tie, the Braves’ season mark moved to 3-2-1 going into Tuesday’s non-league home match with 1A Sultan. La Conner was 0-1 in NW2B/1B play entering the week after falling 4-1 in a conference test at Friday Harbor on Oct. 1. Coach Mad...
Lydia Grossglass went for the hat trick while teammates Angie Pena, Maicy Bowles and Lily Dougliss scored one goal each as the La Conner High School girls’ soccer team improved to 3-1 with a 6-0 shutout win over the 1A Nooksack Valley Junior Varsity at Whittaker Field last Friday. Pena and Bowles got the Braves on the scoreboard with back-to-back goals. Grossglass followed with three consecutive scores and Dougliss found the net in the second half to cap the La Conner offensive onslaught. “The girls had excellent communication,” La Conne...
In an up and down week, the La Conner High School volleyball team finished strong. The Braves (5-4 overall; 1-1 in league) rebounded from a tough 3-0 Sept. 24 home loss to NW2B/1B archrival Coupeville to defeat host Friday Harbor in straight sets last Friday. La Conner captured each set against the Wolverines by double digits, defeating Friday Harbor 25-10, 25-12, 25-13. La Conner head coach Pam Keller received solid contributions from her entire roster at Friday Harbor. Freshman Nora McCormick delivered a team-high 12 kills to go along with...
The Concrete Lions, with two state 11-man football titles to their credit, resembled a finely tuned machine in the eight-man grid ranks Friday night. That machine, unfortunately for the La Conner Braves, turned out to be a steam roller. Concrete rolled to an 80-26 home triumph over La Conner, which was playing just the third game in its inaugural eight-man season. The Braves (1-2) were coming off an impressive 60-0 shutout win over Vashon Island but found the Lions, who snapped a three-game losing streak, to be a different breed of cat in the...
Lydia Grossglass and Bailey Smith combined for three first-half goals and the La Conner High School girls' soccer team withstood a late Providence Classical Christian rally to post a 3-2 NW2B/1B triumph at Whittaker Field Friday afternoon. Smith delivered a goal 14 minutes into the contest to give La Conner an early lead. Grossglass then extended the hosts' advantage with two scores before intermission. A senior, Grossglass scored with 7:45 left in the opening half off a free kick by Angie Pena,...
The difference in enrollment between La Conner and Mount Vernon high schools is enormous. The difference between the two on the volleyball court – not so much. La Conner, a perennial state 2B power, played two close sets at 3A Mount Vernon Sept. 19 before falling in a hard-fought 3-0 non-conference pairing. The Braves (4-3), who were coming off straight-sets neutral site triumphs in Yakima over West Valley and DeSales, fought host Mount Vernon on near equal terms in the early going of their match. The Bulldogs edged La Conner 27-25 and 25-22 i...
The La Conner Braves had extra motivation to defeat Vashon Island in its football season home opener at Whittaker Field Friday night. It wasn’t just because the Braves had suffered a 64-24 loss to Pomeroy in their 2024 eight-man grid debut a week earlier. Returning home, La Conner players were joined on their sideline by celebrated motivational speaker Curt Marsh, the former University of Washington All-American and Los Angeles Raiders Super Bowl champion. He now resides in Shelter Bay. “What I liked a lot about tonight is how you played for...
Coach Maddie Huscher and her staff marveled at how well the La Conner High School girls’ soccer team communicated during preseason workouts a couple weeks ago. Now the La Conner coaches can’t say enough about how well their players are executing attacks in the 2024 campaign’s early going. The Braves opened non-conference action with twin romps in which they scored in double digits against both Muckleshoot Tribal School and Forest Ridge Sacred Heart. La Conner blanked Muckleshoot 11-0 and defeated Forest Ridge 11-2 last week in a pair of impre...
