GU15 Parrots 2000-2001

Katie Schoene goal kick with Colin Kosco as guest GK (at Pea Patch in Kent?)

Hillary, Juli, and Sophie were at ODP and our keeper, Nerissa, had quit a month into the season for health reasons, so we were at nine for the Snohomish Invitational.   Luckily, we were able to round up some great guest players: goalkeeper Sarah Snyder of Dosveedanya, and Amber Luce, Alex Pielak, and Kayla Shrader of Norpoint 84.   We struggled at times in this tournament, giving up a 3-0 lead to Eastside 85 in the space of eleven minutes to lose 4-3 in preliminaries, and giving up three goals to the Whidbey Islanders in the first ten minutes of our semifinal, and fighting back to scrounge a tie, and win the shootout.   But we looked very good in our final with the Shooting Stars, winning our first tournament of the year.

Alex and Kayla were playing two years up on Norpoint 84 at the time, and dropped back to play with the Parrots at U16.    Amber joined the Parrots in May of U18.   Sarah played with Dos until they broke up, then played on Emerald City and the U19 Saints.

The Rainier Challenge was a very exciting tournament for us.    We still had only 12 players on the our team, and no keeper so we borrowed Kali Paris, who ended up joining us as keeper at U18.   Leah Wymer and Kandace Logan also played for us.  Leah now plays for Seattle U, and Kandace has gotten into distance running.   The preliminary rounds and our semifinal vs the Oregon State Champion Posh went very well, and our final with the Royals was very exciting.    They won in overtime 3-2.

Aleah goes up to stop corner from hitting the head of a Slammers North player at the Slammers Classic 2000.

Juli wins another ball in our 1-0 opening win.

Alex crossing another beautiful ball.   Alex was always one of the most skilled players in the State at our level, and when healthy was as dangerous as any attacker because of her deceptiveness, speed, explosiveness, and ability to finish beautifully with either foot in a variety of ways.  If she hadn't been injured repeatedly over the next few years, she would have had been one of the most heavily-recruited players at our age level.

This was a great trip.   It was really hot, but only one Parrot ever seemed chronically affected by heat...

Alex and Bob Wexler at Slammers.   Without these two, the Parrots would have been boring at this time.

Katie and Ritz (in the popular sunglasses)

You will not see Alex Pielak's teeth in photos if she can avoid it, but in real life she smiles all the time.

Our first team dinner in LA.

Hearts?

Lisa, Kelly, Ritz, and Stephie, and various braces...

Amy Druse guested for us.  We loved her back then because she fit in so well, and a year and a half later, she decided to join us permanently.

At a Mexican restaurant

Juli, Amy, and Ritz

Hillary attacks So Cal Blues in our quarterfinal at the Slammers Newport Classic.   We lost 3-2,  giving up the tying goal with ten minutes left, and the final one a flukey own goal coming with a little over a minute to go before PKs.   But it was our first trip to California, and we loved it!

Steph hits long ball in So Cal game

Hillary blasts the ball at the corner and into the shinguard of future teammate Kolina Beck

Our home field during U14 and U15 was usually the Queen Anne Bowl.   This is the only Parrots team which was undefeated during a fall league season, and at this point we were partway through our nine month long undefeated streak of 44 games.   The chemistry of this group of players at this time was exceptional.

Kat vs Three Rivers Fall 2000

Alex Wexler goes up for a header in Pasco

Eugene back when he wore a watch

Dabney Rohrbach vs Vision in Spokane (not long after a snowfall)

Our games with the Vision were always physical, and over our final five years they scored more goals against us than any other team our age level.  
But we won this game 4-2.

Quarterfinal vs Dos at Sealth Stadium. 

Like many top teams at our age level, Dos was a victim of the Royals 85 decision to play up in fall league, which meant they came into the State Cup unseeded.   Dos was the #3 seed in the tournament having placed 3rd in P1, and the #1 seed in their bracket.   But they drew the unseeded Royals into their bracket.   The Royals tied Dos head-to-head, and won their bracket on points 24-22, sending Dos, the #3 seed into an away quarterfinal against us (the #1 seed), which they lost 4-0.   The previous year the Royals had been drawn into a bracket with the #1 seed, the Blaze, who they bumped into an away elimination game which the Blaze lost in a shootout to the Marauders.   The following year, the #2 seed, the Extreme, drew the Royals.   The Extreme played away at the Royals, and lost, and ended up in an elimination game in Vancouver, which they lost 1-0.   At U17 the #3 seed, the Spokane Vision, was the victim, drawing the Royals in a game in Tacoma which they lost.   They ended up in an away quarterfinal in Seattle against us, which they lost.   All of these teams understandably resented the Royals for playing up and coming in and destroying the seeding they had earned in the State League because not making it to a semifinal meant that their chances of making it to out-of-state tournaments, such as the Surf Cup and the Texas Shootout were obliterated.

Hillary calmly prepares to cut the ball back to Kelly.

Teryn Allen of Parrots vs Kali Paris of Blaze in State Cup semifinal

Goal mouth player explosion off corner featuring Christy, Hillary, Kali, Big Britt, Juli, and Kandace.

Red Robin Victory Celebration after winning State Final
(Juli, Kelly, Hillary, Steph, Jessie, and Lisa)