Enumclaw Girls Soccer Returns 10 Varsity Players

You would think Shawn Tobius would be ecstatic about his girls soccer team this year, as he returns 10 varsity players.

Problem is the one player he lost was an all-state goalie, Caitlin Plese, who is now playing at Portland State University.

Also, Enumclaw High School plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state. Last year Bonney Lake went to the state title game, and Decatur also went deep into the playoffs. Tobius said those squads plus Auburn-Mountain View will all be tough this year.

So while the fifth-year coach is glad to return such a talented overall team, he knows it will take work to do better than last year’s fourth-place finish in the South Puget Sound League’s 3A division.

“Last year we were young and didn’t do as good as I wanted,” the coach said, adding that he hopes they can do better with the more-experienced squad this year.

Tobius also said it will be different for the girls this year playing on the new Astroturf field at the Expo Center in its home games. Play is a lot faster on a turf field, but Tobius thinks the girls should adapt well because so many of them play on select soccer teams that play on turf all the time.

The coach couldn’t single out any stars because he has 10 solid players, but he did say the strength of the team will be at midfield.

The squad’s first game will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 3 at the jamboree in Orting.