Last season was a big one for the Auburn Mountainview girls soccer program.

In just their fourth year as a program, the Lions battled to a third-place finish in South Puget Sound League 3A with a 5-3-0 record and finished the season one win shy of the state tournament with a 12-5-1 overall mark.

Off the field, the team was honored as the sport’s 3A academic champion for its 3.813 cumulative GPA.

As with any successful program, last year’s successes just add to this season’s expectations.

“We really feel like we should go to the state tournament (this year),” coach Cary Davidson said. “We feel like we belong there. So our goals for this year are to win our third academic state championship and go to the state tournament. And we really feel like we can be there. We definitely feel like we’re one of the best 16 teams in the state and with a little luck, past that.”

The Lions put their paws to that path this past Thursday, opening play in the SPSL 3A league with a 1-1 tie against last year’s league champion, Sumner, at Sunset Stadium.

Hannah Morse scored Auburn Mountainview’s goal on an assist from Hattie Kosko late in the match, with Sumner’s Kaylee Holloway answering for the Spartans in the 73rd minute of the match.

Although a win is naturally preferred to a tie, Davidson said he was proud of the girls’ effort in a physical match.

“The girls did a good job of staying calm and playing hard,” he said, “as calm as they could.”

But that’s what you would expect from a team as stocked with experience.

“We only lost three players (from last season), that’s it,” Davidson said. “For the first time we’ve got good players on the bench. It’s a luxury that we haven’t had in the last four years. No matter who I start, I’ve got players on the bench. We’re not so worried about injuries because if it happens we can sub someone in and lose nothing.

“We are organized and very hard working. We can pass the ball well. We’re strong in the back and we have good speed, especially on the outside.”

Although the team lost all-SPSL players Kelly Voss and Danica Collop to graduation, Auburn Mountainview returns seven seniors, as well as a strong core of underclassmen.

Davidson said the team will rely on the leadership of co-captains Ali Clarkson and Hannah Morse, both returning all-SPSL 3A first-teamers, as well as honorable mention performer Kristin Herren.

“Ali is our central midfielder and holds it all together,” Davidson said of the Boise State-bound midfielder. “She works really hard.

“With Hannah, nobody in the league can hold the ball up top like her,” he continued. “She’s our goal scorer, we play to her feet. She can hold three players off. They can be jumping up on her back, using her as a Jungle Gym, it doesn’t matter.”

The team also relies on the leadership of Herren, the younger sister of Kate Herren, who is currently playing at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

“Kristen is our field general. She’s in the middle right in the back telling everybody what to do,” Davidson said.

And the leadership doesn’t stop at the team’s trio of captains, Davidson added.

“And we’ve got our four other seniors, Brianne Wills, Megan Telstad, Jessica Jasper and Deanna Colburn who are leaders without being captains,” he said. “They’re very important. They all have different roles. They are mature and important for our team.”

Although the league season has just begun for the Lions, the team is already 6-1-1 overall, courtesy of a slew of non-league tune-ups scheduled by Davidson.

“We like to try our girls in a lot of positions so that when we hit the games that count, we feel like we’ve got the right kids in the right spots,” he explained. “We’ve tried everyone in different formations. And it gives everyone a chance to play and gain experience. That way, we’re ready to run hard when we get to the SPSL games.”

Although the team seems solid, Davidson said there still were areas where the Lions used to work to achieve their lofty goals.

“(We need to) finish against the tough teams,” he said. “We need to win the balls in the air. Whether it’s attacking or defending, we need to make sure we win all the aerial battles.”

Finishing against tough teams was the weakness that hurt the team last season in the West Central District tournament, where the Lions lost 4-0 to Union.

“Camas is a tough place to play,” he said. “And it was a bad looking score, but it wasn’t a bad game. We’d love to play them again.”

Until then, the Lions will have to satisfy themselves with playing other teams in a tough SPSL 3A league, that includes Sumner, Bonney Lake and Enumclaw.

And regardless of whether the team achieves its goals and makes the program’s first state appearance, Davidson said he just enjoys spending time coaching the team.

“They’re just such a great group of girls, real coachable,” Davidson said. “I just love them.”