FEDERAL WAY – While the disappointment from this weekend likely will last a bit for the Wahluke boys soccer team, what the team did in the last two weeks still remains quite impressive.

Sneaking into state play by earning District 5’s seventh and final berth to the Class 1A tournament, the Warriors made plenty of noise once,

First, Wahluke, seeded 16th, won one of four games to whittle the field, and thumbed its nose at the seedings, The Warriors thumped No. 1 seed and district champion Cascade, 4-0.

They followed that with a 5-1 handling of eighth-seeded Fort Vancouver to earn the program’s 10th trip to the state final four.

While the results at Federal Way Memorial Stadium – Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 loss to No. 6 Cedar Park Christian on the heels of Friday night’s 1-0 semifinal setback to 12th seed Meridian – didn’t meet Wahluke’s hopes or expectations, there was plenty to celebrate.

“I’m happy with the effort with everyone,” Warriors coach Cele Lopez said. “They left it all on the field. They showed some character when things weren’t going our way.”

With a roster that has more freshmen (seven) than seniors (four), next season looks bright for Wahluke (17-8-2).

Two-time SCAC MVP Icker Lopez, the coach’s son, is set to return for his senior season. Fellow all-league selections sophomore striker Ethan Moreno and junior keeper Franco Perez also should be back.

“We’re already planning on the offseason,” Coach Lopez said. “Some of them play football and some of them play basketball, which is fine. We want to get them playing in the offseason.”