Girls Soccer | Archbishop Murphy masses support for semis
Archbishop Murphy’s girls soccer team, the defending Class 2A state champion, will have a lot more fans watching than usual today.
The Catholic school near Mill Creek canceled classes today, and students and fans will travel by bus to Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood, Pierce County, for a state semifinal at noon. An anonymous donor gave approximately $10,000 for 15 charter buses and admission for the faculty and students.
Archbishop Murphy’s unbeaten football team was knocked out of the playoffs and forced to forfeit eight games last Friday after it self-reported that a player’s physical expired a few days before the Sept. 12 death of coach Terry Ennis. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s executive board upheld earlier rulings despite pleas of “extenuating circumstances.”
“The point of this is the community and the unity of people who are going to go together,” said soccer coach Dick Henderson. “I think that’s kind of a way to support something else and to try to help reconcile what happened and try to put it behind them.”
Henderson said his team won’t play angry because of the football decision.
“We’re the last of the fall sports at Archbishop Murphy,” he said. “We have a chance to carry a mantle.”
The Wildcats (21-0) play Fife at noon. With classes canceled, Henderson said as many as 600 fans could make the trip. Archbishop Murphy’s enrollment is about 575.
The school also received a statement of support from the Most Rev. Alex J. Brunett, archbishop of Seattle. In an open letter, he said the school “proved itself to be a true champion” when it self-reported the lapsed physical.
“It was an honest mistake,” the Archbishop wrote. “By worldly standards the school was foolish to self-report an inadvertent mix-up in paperwork. After all, if school officials had not reported the violation it likely would have gone undetected. …
“But sports championships are not what define Archbishop Murphy High School, and they are not what distinguish Catholic education. … ”
Seattle Times staff reporter Craig Smith
contributed to this report.