The Pirate girls topped off the 2010 soccer season with a fourth-place finish at the WIAA 1A State Tournament.

A 4-0 loss to Overlake High School Friday evening and a 2-0 loss to Lakeside High School (Nine-Mile Falls) Saturday morning left the Pirate girls with the second-best finish in the history of Vashon girls soccer. Vashon took second in the state once and fourth one other time.

Girls soccer coach Paul Beytebiere had nothing but praise for his team after the tournament. What many thought would be a rebuilding year after losing 12 seniors to graduation last year turned out to be, as Beytebiere has told the girls regularly, the best season he has had with the Pirates.

The season started on a high note with a 4-3 comeback win over the powerful Seattle Christian Warriors. Even though they lost two close games to Charles Wright and the re-match with the Warriors, the Pirates finished second to Seattle Christian in the Nisqually League.

A shootout win over Orting in the tri-district tournament gave Vashon entry to the state tournament, where they eliminated Montesano 1-0 in a downpour.

The state quarterfinal was a history-making game for the Pirates. Again matched with Seattle Christian, Vashon won a 2-1 shootout, becoming the only 1A team to defeat the Warriors this season, beating them twice and knocking the pre-season favorites out of the competition.

On the bus after the final game, coach Beytebiere was already looking forward to next season and speculating about a possible Vashon-Seattle Christian championship final.

Only three seniors are graduating from this season’s roster. Carlyle Scott was almost unbeatable bringing the ball up the left side and has a wicked cross that resulted in numerous goals in her Pirate career. Natalie Kerns is a solid midfield/forward utility player.

Goalkeeper Larissa Kuhns moved into the starting slot late in the season and was one of the key players in the playoff run.

There are seven juniors, four sophomores and seven freshmen on that roster, and Beytebiere is watching several eighth and seventh-graders on the McMurray team who just started play last week, so Pirate fans should probably start clearing their schedules for the next few years.

— Rik Forschmiedt is the fomer sports editor of The Beachcomber.