Members of the Prairie High School girls soccer team, coaches and parents visit the Sanssouci Palace in Postdam, Germany.
The Prairie Falcons got the opportunity to face a variety of club teams while they were in Germany, including Union Berlin.
As Alyssa Talkington gets out on a fast break, her Prairie High School teammates swarm in to provide assistance and encouragement.
After three league championship seasons at Prairie High School, Savannah Harshbarger, Malaika Quigley and Sydney Weber want to make it 4-for-4 for their senior year.
These girls also dream of playing in the Final Four in November after reaching the 3A state quarterfinals last season.
“We lost some good players, but I think we have the motivation to come back out and win another league championship,” Quigley said. “We better win another league championship.”
“Since it’s our last year and we want to go 4-for-4, it’s all out every single game,” Weber added.
“We’d be the seniors to remember if we won league every single year,” Harshbarger believes.
Head coach Michael Thyron said Harshbarger, Quigley and Weber have been key contributors to the program since they were freshmen. They are the first ones to show up for practice and the last ones to leave the field after everything gets put away. That’s why they are captains.
“They have been through it all, seen it all and it’s potentially a special year for them,” Thyron said. “I know they would like to go out saying we won four league championships in a row. That’s really hard to do. It’s hard to win one let alone three. We’re trying to go for four. That’s what their goal is. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to accomplish that.”
Mountain View, Kelso and Evergreen stand in Prairie’s way of winning a fourth league title. Thyron is also not counting out Hudson’s Bay or Fort Vancouver.
“I’ve just learned after coaching for 30 years, you can never underestimate anybody because the moment you do that you leave yourself vulnerable,” he said. “These girls have to compete every day and they have to recognize that they have a target on their back. Any time that you’re returning champions, people want to gun for you. And so you can’t rest on your laurels. You got to bring it every day.”
The Falcons didn’t stick to the status quo this summer. In July, 21 members of the team got the opportunity of a lifetime to play in Germany. The team raised money through fundraising efforts and family contributions. Nine parents joined the girls on the 11-day trip as chaperones.
“I have some connections in Germany and it’s always been a goal of mine to take a high school team to Germany and combine a little bit of culture and soccer,” Thyron said. “So we set it up, kind of piloted it this year and it was a huge success. The girls had a blast. We’re hoping it’s something we can do again.”
Prairie played six games against club teams from Germany. One of Thyron’s highlights was watching the girls come from behind to tie Union Berlin.
“Our girls were 14, 15, 16, 17 and we were playing against women’s teams,” he said. “We had three square meals a day together. We were sleeping in the same bunk houses. We had to run in and out of the subway stations and climb the stair together. Everybody has to work together and that was the neatest part about it.”
Harshbarger, Quigley and Weber have played soccer together since they were 6. The trip to Germany this summer only strengthened their bond and the one that’s growing between their teammates at Prairie.
“If I’m having a bad day at school, coming out here just kind of relieves everything,” Quigley said. “Being on the ball just makes everything a little bit better and being with people that I’m super close with is really special.”
