The Selah girls soccer team was in prime position entering the final two weeks of CWAC play, holding a one-game lead over East Valley after handing the Red Devils their only loss of the season on Sept. 30.

Then the unexpected happened: the Vikings lost 2-1 in overtime to sixth-place Grandview last Saturday, putting their hopes for a No. 1 district seed in jeopardy. The road to the top seed may be a little tougher now, but the battle-tested Viks are up to the challenge.

“Playing a hard nonleague schedule helped prepare us for league, and we knew that by playing those teams, it would make us better,” said defensive midfielder Braylee Pendleton, one of five senior leaders for the Vikings this season. “Those games showed us what we needed to work on and helped us build our chemistry.”

Selah (4-1 CWAC, 7-4 overall) faced 4A teams Wenatchee, West Valley and Davis in the preseason, along with league rival Ellensburg, which sits tied with Prosser for third place at 3-2. The Viks dropped a 2-1 decision to the Bulldogs on Sept. 18, and the seniors are looking forward to the rematch this Saturday at home.

“We definitely don’t want to lose to Ellensburg again,” senior Sophie Blodgett said. “We started off well, but after we scored, it went downhill after that. We kind of lost our momentum, and it ended up costing us. But we learned a lot from that game, and we’re excited to play them again.”

Blodgett and Pendleton have been playing for head coach Josh Koreski since their freshman year, along with Elayna Blodgett and Lily St. Mary. The fifth senior leader, Reese Robinson, joined the program during her sophomore year.

Together, they provide the heart and soul for an otherwise very young team.

“We have such good senior leaders — I just can’t say enough about what they bring to this program,” Koreski said. “They all have great attitudes, and they are so good with the younger players. All five of those girls are absolute class.”

Aside from the five senior captains, the Vikings rely on a core of underclassmen, including sophomore winger Maddie Phinney and five freshman starters: goalkeeper Lacy Patterson, defenders Bentlie Webster and Harper Tilley, and midfielders Kaylee Hall and Chloe Maher.

Unlike when this year’s seniors were coming up, they don’t have a junior class to mentor for next year.

“We want to make it feel like a family, not just a team,” said Pendleton, who also recognized freshman Brinkley Cobb and sophomore Savannah Close-Schibig for their contributions this season. 

“We believe everyone should care about each other, no matter what year they are. That’s the culture we are trying to set as a group.”

As the seniors experienced when they were learning the ropes, it can be intimidating to line up alongside players three years older than you. They understand that creating a safe space for their younger teammates is just part of the job of being a captain.

“Learning how to connect with the younger players during the preseason was important, and I think that’s why we’ve been playing so well lately,” Sophie Blodgett said. “We were able to figure out a lot of things about each other, and now we just need to keep it going.”

The Viks will look to bounce back Tuesday at fifth-place Quincy before hosting Ellensburg on Saturday.

CWAC — EAST VALLEY sits tied with SELAH for the top spot at 4-1 with three league games remaining. Senior Ariana Lopez, who scored her 100th career goal last week, now has 31 goals on the season. … PROSSER topped ELLENSBURG 4-0 last Saturday behind two goals from Ariana Martin and one each by Sydney Belisle and Jaelyn Rivera. With the win, the Mustangs moved into a third-place tie with the Bulldogs at 3-2. … EPHRATA and GRANDVIEW both sit at 2-3 in league play, but they continue to cause problems for the league’s top teams. Ephrata pushed Selah and East Valley to the brink last week, losing a pair of 2-1 decisions, and Grandview knocked off Selah 2-1 in overtime.

CBBN — WENATCHEE is 7-0 in league play and 9-0-1 overall, earning the No. 2 spot in the latest WIAA RPI rankings. Berkeley Boles continues to lead a dangerous attack, scoring three goals in a 6-0 win over Davis on Saturday. Teammate Kamryn Garcia netted two goals and Ellison Eastman had a goal and two assists. … EASTMONT, MOSES LAKE and EISENHOWER are battling it out for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming district tournament, with all three teams sitting at 4-3. … Fourth-place WEST VALLEY (3-3 CBBN) has been a bit of an enigma this season, defeating Eastmont and Eisenhower, then falling 1-0 to last-place SUNNYSIDE and getting overwhelmed by Moses Lake 5-0 at home.

SCAC — NACHES VALLEY solidified its hold on second place with a 4-1 home win over Royal last Saturday. Returning league Player of the Year Emmaria Mendoza scored a pair of goals, while Emary Rowe and Elizabeth Ramirez also found the net to help the Rangers improve to 9-1-1 in league play. … The only team keeping Naches Valley from the top spot is CASHMERE, which sits at No. 3 in the RPI rankings after a 10-0 start. Brynne Patrick has been leading the Bulldog attack, with help from Gwen Ledesma, Makelah Gatens, Erin Ireland, Addie Talley and Alyssia Soria. … ZILLAH sits in fourth place after recording its seventh win of the season — a program best since the Leopards joined the league in 2016. Zillah had strung together consecutive wins over Wapato (3-2), Kiona Benton (7-1) and Connell (1-0) before falling to Wahluke 7-0 on Saturday.