The Liberty Patriots girls soccer team went through a whirlwind of emotions over the weekend of Nov. 22, and a thrilling win over Eastside Catholic in penalties in the semifinals led to eventual heartbreak in the state final against Bellevue.

The Patriots took home a second place trophy after the 1-0 loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 22, but the resiliency shown means more than a runner-up position.

“It says a lot about these kids. They are the ones that are out here with blood, sweat and tears, just working their tails off to get here. It’s disappointing for them because how hard they worked and how hard it was. But they battled all the way through, I am super proud of them,” Head Coach Ryan Johnson said.

Liberty has also had some success at the state level, but hasn’t made a deep run in the state tournament since 2018, when they won the state crown that year in the 2A classification.

As the ninth seed, Liberty had toppled the No. 8 seed (White River), No. 1 (Gig Harbor) and No. 4 (Eastside Catholic) en route to their fifth state title game in school history. As a senior, her coach might have had thoughts of how good the team was, but for Peyton Warns, she was shocked.

“Honestly after the first game this season, heck no. At the beginning of our season, I was like, there is no way. But we just kept getting better and better. We were peaking at the right time,” Warns said.

Bellevue and Liberty had met once before this season, a 1-1 draw back on Oct. 23 in the final regular season match on the eve of the KingCo Tournament. But this game had a bit more on the line, and had even more intensity, and the play on the field reflected that.

Liberty was heading in with full momentum, and a win in a penalty shootout against Gig Harbor and Eastside Catholic provided the good vibes for the Patriots.

Morgan Ackermann fights off a Bellevue defender. Ben Ray / The Reporter

In the first half, neither side found the back of the net in the state championship. But time and time again, Warns found ways to keep Bellevue out of their own net. The Seattle University commit continued to impress as one of the best goalkeepers in the state, let alone the state tournament.

“In PK’s she was unbelievable in that. She’s always been reliable all four years for us. She had some tricks up her sleeve that she pulled out in this tournament with some huge saves,” Johnson said.

But it was Bellevue’s day to be had, and in the first minute of the second half, sophomore Paris Baker put on a shot that Warns couldn’t save. In the blink of an eye, out of nowhere, Bellevue was in the driver’s seat and wouldn’t relinquish the wheel.

Losing in the state championship is a hard pill to swallow, especially after the emotions of the round before. But a turning point in the game against Bellevue was when Addie Streur, who caused problems for teams all tournament, left the game with an injury. The Patriots had to change their formation and personnel to adapt the attack, which did create chances in the absence of Streur, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. But the efforts were commended by Johnson after the game.

“That’s been our mentality in the playoffs. We got each other’s back. Addie goes down with an injury and we step up and try to get better and keep on competing,” Johnson said.

Sophomore Morgan Ackermann burdened herself with much of the attack after Streur left and tried to will the Patriots to level terms with the Wolverines. Her efforts ended up being in vain, but the want and drive all season was certainly one of the causes for their turnaround after starting the season 2-3-1.

“She’s gotta be one of the toughest kids I know. People take runs at her all the time. They go shoulder to shoulder, but just bounce right off her. She’s super strong on the ball and teams triple-team her and she still creates chances,” Johnson said.

To get to the championship required tremendous resolve and effort the day before. Liberty took on Eastside Catholic and the two sides left it all on the pitch on Nov. 21.

In the game against Gig Harbor, Warns, Ackermann and Streur were the players that pushed the Patriots over the top. But against Eastside Catholic, the goals came from another source, Skyla Yu.

After another scoreless first half, Liberty and Eastside Catholic were locked at 0-0 heading to the locker rooms. The Crusaders struck first on a corner kick with Dylan Beuparlant heading the ball through the arms of Warns to give the Crusaders the lead.

Ten minutes later after a failed clearance, Yu found herself with the ball and unmarked. She kept her composure and scored the game-tying goal, and the reality of a state championship started to creep into their minds.

“She was on it,” Warns said.

Mylene Aguila hugs Skyla Yu after her goal against Eastside Catholic. Ben Ray / The Reporter

“Skyla was amazing (tonight). I had been waiting for it, because it seems like every game we have a different person step up. To hit the shot she did with all the composure to tie the game and then to hit the go-ahead goal was awesome. It was just a clutch player stepping up,” Johnson added.

That picture got clearer just five minutes later as Yu kicked a half volley over the head of Logan Hellyar. It was a moment Yu will never forget, putting her side up 2-1 in the last 30 minutes of the state semifinals. “It meant a lot, it was really special. It was so, so amazing,” Yu said.

But Eastside Catholic wasn’t done either, when sophomore Bella Navarro hit an absolute screamer in the 73rd minute to tie the game. The two sides went to overtime and couldn’t find a winner, so the game went to penalties.

Liberty sent Ackermann and Yu to the spot to take their first two shots. They both missed. Eastside Catholic on the other hand made their first after the kick was taken too early on a Warns save. Then Warns saved the second shot.

Warns had a penalty saver percentage of .454 in the state tournament. That number is unheard of in back-to-back games. In 2025 the Chicago Fire in MLS have faced 10 penalty shots and saved 22.2% of shots. Warns saves came at a 20% higher clip. “I swear she saves every one, even in practice,” Yu said.

Skyla Yu lifts her hands after scoring her go-ahead goal against Eastside Catholic. Ben Ray / The Reporter

“I’ve been blessed with a couple keepers that were good at them (penalties). It’s a natural ability. They really live for that opportunity. She’s been unstoppable and made two or three saves in each of them,” Johnson said.

The next five Patriots (Mia Carr, Callise Chin, Whitney Wolbert and Courtney Frank) went five-for-five. Warns ended up saving another penalty before Olivia Shogren of Eastside Catholic sent her shot wide.

Up stepped Frank, a freshman, to take her biggest kick of her career. She slotted it into the bottom left corner to send Liberty to the finals. “Having Courtney step up as a freshman and hit the game winner, that’s awesome,” Johnson said.

But the fate that arrived for the Patriots turned out to be not in their favor as the Wolverines were crowned the 3A champions the next day, a sour end to a sweet season.