Stylish Lady Braves fashion another winning season

In life, there’s often a choice between style and substance.

In soccer, it can be both.

The La Conner High Lady Braves, unbeaten in nine conference starts going into their Senior Night home match with Orcas at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, are a case in point.

The team has embraced a new style under first-year La Conner head coach Christian Warman while maintaining the winning tradition fostered by longtime former Lady Braves mentor Amy Freeto, who stepped down earlier this year after having molded the program into a regular State title contender.

“We’re blessed,” Warman said, “to have great athletes all over the place. We have some girls that other teams have a hard time stopping.”

Kyla Crawford, Taylor Reimland, and Emma Lee to name just a few.

“Kyla,” said Warman,” is a big-time player for us. She’s a huge presence on the field, just a great player.

“Taylor,” Warman added, “has had a great year. She’s scored a ton of goals.

“And Emma,” he noted, “is blazing fast and is so unselfish when it comes to feeding other people the rock.”

All have reached the double-digit mark in scoring and rank among the area’s elite goal producers.

A balanced attack is exactly what Warman and the Lady Braves have been shooting for this season.

Spreading the wealth is a concept that has paid repeated dividends for the 2016 Lady Braves, Warman, previously the head coach at rival Mount Vernon Christian, told La Conner Weekly News on Monday.

“It’s a style we’ve worked on over the course of the season,” he said. “It’s a matter of developing more control over the ball, and it has allowed us to ad more tools to our toolbox.”

An apt metaphor, indeed, for a team whose work ethic is a primary asset. Its workmanlike approach, employed by a versatile roster featuring virtually interchangeable parts, has been a sight to behold, says Warman, son of legendary Skagit area soccer coach Gary Warman.

“The girls, over time, have really come together with it,” he said, “and it has proved to be quite dynamic.”

Both on and off the field.

The Lady Braves, Warman noted, have rallied around newcomers as well as their key returnees. The former includes skilled middle school prospect Ketilina O’Brien and Thai foreign exchange student Nok Pimpisan.

“We started this year playing down a player,” Warman pointed out. “Ketlina came up as an eighth-grader and has been a really good player for us.”

Nok was a later — and equally welcome — addition.

“Nok had never touched a soccer ball,” said Warman, “but the girls immediately took her under their wing. She’s getting better all the time and this has been a huge deal for her.”

It further helps La Conner’s traditional playoff push that the Lady Braves can rely upon premier goalkeeper Sarah Hastings, among the mainstays from last year’s State Tournament entry.

Hastings has yielded just five goals this season, the fewest among NW2B keepers.

“What’s so impressive about that,” Warman said, “is that we’ve faced some pretty tough teams.”

And still more loom ahead as La Conner preps for what Lady Braves fans hope will be yet another deep post-season run.