State high school championship tournaments get underway this week, and a pair of Edmonds-Woodway Warrior squads are preparing for what they hope will be long runs in state tourney play. 

For one team, it’s business as usual, getting ready for yet another appearance in the season-ending state tournament. For the other, it’s a long-awaited return to state tourney play that is a bit of a surprise.

E-W Boys Soccer

Earning a berth in the 2025 WIAA 3A State Boys Soccer Tournament represents the fifth straight year that the Warriors have gone to state. Each berth earned to state is noteworthy, but when you’re a senior it can be even more memorable.

“It’s just such a great experience, especially this year,” said senior Danny Loveless. “To be seniors and to lead the team to state, it’s just so special.”

“I think it’s really cool to get the opportunity to play against the best teams in the state and to show that we can compete with them,” said senior Ben Browne.

Loveless and Browne are two of 13 seniors on the E-W roster. And while some of them have state tournament experience from previous seasons, it’s not many due to the player turnover on Warrior squads each year. For example, the 2024 Warrior team that finished fourth in state last year graduated 10 seniors; the 2023 squad lost eight seniors to graduation.

While losing a number of seniors each season can hamper a program, it can also be a motivating factor each year.

“We’re almost a new squad from last year and so that feels really special that we can build our own legacy,” Loveless said.

Finding their identity this season has taken some time, Loveless said. The Warriors lost two of their first three matches of the year, including a 5-3 defeat in their 2025 season opener to Woodinville. But Loveless and his fellow E-W defenders have tightened up their play, especially in their last six matches where the Warriors have gone 5-1 and outscored opponents 13-5.

“Our defense as a whole, this season has been really good for growth,” Loveless said. “Because it seems like there’s been a lot of earlier games when we haven’t been as strong. It seems like now that we’re (deep) in the postseason, we’ve been working together a lot better.”

From his midfield position, Browne helps set up a potent Warrior front line attack that includes high-flying seniors Alex Plumis, Joey Durnay and Jesus Ortiz Suarez. As a team, E-W has averaged a sizzling 2.3 goals per match this season.

“It’s been awesome. All of them are so skilled on the ball,” Browne said of the Warrior forwards. “It’s nice to have a bunch of boys you can trust to get the ball into the net.”

As the no.11-seed in the state tournament, Edmonds-Woodway will likely face higher seeded teams for as long as they survive in the single-elimination tourney. The Warriors open with a match against fellow Wesco League member and state-tournament no.6-seed Monroe on Friday, May 23, in a loser-out match to be played at Mercer Island High School. First kick is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

If E-W can get past Monroe – a team they defeated 4-3 in a wild match back on March 28 – they would likely face no.3-seed Mercer Island on Saturday, May 24, 1:30 p.m., on the Islanders’ home field.

Although bringing home another trophy from the state tournament (the Warriors finished fourth last year and fourth in 2021) seems like a tall task this year, that isn’t stopping E-W from setting some high goals for the next two weeks..

“Winning state, that’s the minimum,” Browne said. “There’s nothing else.”

View the entire WIAA 3A State Boys Soccer Tournament bracket here.  

E-W Boys Soccer: 

– 2025 season record: 12-6-2

– Head Coach: Jason Hanson

– State tournament seed: no. 11

– State tournament loser-out opening match: versus no.6 seed Monroe (16-2-0),  Friday, May 23; 5 p.m. at Mercer Island High School (winner-to-state tourney quarterfinal match; Saturday, May 24; 1:30 p.m. at Mercer Island High School)

– Key players: senior Alex Plumis (forward), senior Ben Browne (midfielder), senior Danny Loveless (defender), junior Daniel Abraham (goalkeeper)

E-W Fastpitch Softball

While E-W boys soccer has been making it a regular practice to qualify for their state tournament in recent years, the Warrior fastpitch softball team is going to state for the first time since 2019.

“It’s honestly surreal,” senior Catie Ingalls said. “It’s crazy that we made it. But we deserve it, I think.”

After finishing 6-12 last year — and not having enough players to field a junior varsity team — the 2025 Warriors are 17-7 and WIAA 3A Fastpitch Softball Tournament qualifiers.

While Ingalls admitted that the team “honestly didn’t have any expectations for this year,” that didn’t stop the Warriors from dreaming big.

“We’ve been saying that we want to make it to State since last year,”  junior Maddie Jones said. “I remember getting together during the summer and talking about our goal to get to State. I think, throughout the season, we worked really hard to execute that.”

While Jones acknowledges that becoming more comfortable with second-year head coach Josh McClure has helped this year’s Warrior squad, she stressed that a new attitude among the players this season has been a big part of the E-W turnaround.

“We set stronger and higher expectations for ourselves,” Jones said.

Looking ahead to the three-day state tournament that begins on Thursday, May 22, can become an obsession for some teams, but the Warriors are taking a different approach this week as they prepare for the tourney.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” said Ingalls of their upcoming state tourney appearance. “We’re more talking about what we did last week (at the District 1 tournament) and how we can improve from that. Because, obviously, we still have some struggles to get through. But we’re really focusing on that and focusing right now on how we can improve.”

The Warriors went 2-2 in the District 1 3A Fastpitch Softball Tournament last week, giving up 27 runs in their fourth games. If E-W wins their state tourney opener against no. 17 seed Roosevelt on Thursday, their next opponent would be no.1 seed Stanwood, which they lost to in the District 1 tournament 6-3 on May 13.

Despite the high yield of runs to District 1 tourney opponents last week, Jones still has confidence in the team’s ability to keep opposing batters in check during the state tournament.

“I love our pitching; they work so hard,” Jones said. “And I know all of them battle for their spot and battle for every single pitch. It’s really great.”

“And Abby (McCorvey), behind the plate, is doing a great job at calling shots,” Jones continued. “I just think everybody’s working really well together in that system.”

Perhaps the biggest improvement for this year’s Warrior squad over last season is the team offense, scoring more than nine runs per game this year. Ingalls said that hitting is contagious and once the team bats get hot, they stay hot for all.

“I think we just really get into a groove,” Ingalls said. “When someone gets a hit, we all get super hyped and it just keeps repeating. Someone gets hit, we get hyped. And that energy helps someone else improve their confidence and they get a hit. It’s a train; you just keep it going.”

Edmonds-Woodway, seeded no. 16 in the state tournament, hopes to keep their surprising 2025 season going against Roosevelt in a loser-out contest Thursday in Lacey. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

View the entire WIAA 3A State Fastpitch Softball Tournament bracket here.

E-W Fastpitch Softball

– 2025 season record: 17-7

– Head coach: Josh McClure

– State tournament seed: no. 16

– State tournament loser-out opening game: versus no.17 seed Roosevelt; Thursday, May 23; 3 p.m. at Regional Athletic Complex Field 3 in Lacey (winner to double-elimination portion of tournament starting versus no.1-seed Stanwood on Friday, May 24; 11 a.m. at Regional Athletic Complex Field 4 in Lacey)

– Key players: seniors Ella Campbell (pitcher, utility player), senior Abby McCorvey (catcher), senior Catie Ingalls (centerfielder), junior Maddie Jones (outfielder), sophomore Helena Marsh (pitcher, first baseman)