‘The best teacher of the game is the game itself,’ West Valley girls soccer seeks repeat of state title

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – West Valley is the standard of girls’ soccer in the Greater Spokane League.

Five-straight top-eight state finishes, three-straight top-three finishes, all capped by a perfect 2025 season.

“We’ve always had the goal of just to persevere through challenges,” senior defender Brielle White said. “And so I think that’s always been a really deep-rooted thing for my four years on this team. That’s been a thing, and I want to keep carrying that into our season.”

This new-look West Valley squad fell to Mt. Spokane and Ridgeline last week, these tougher 3A schools scheduled for good reason.

“I choose a particularly hard preseason on purpose so that we can get that competitive play and we can learn,” head coach CC Collins said. “And the best teacher of the game is the game itself.”

Now the Eagles reset and gear up for a long season ahead, playing another five road games as they roll into district play.

And they do it, above all, proud to be Eagles.

“I think being an Eagle in sports can make anyone very confident and very big with pride,” junior midfielder Aubrey Matthew said. “Because we’re all so good at sports here, and it’s just awesome.”

“Having a great student section and a support system is what pushes us, because last year at our state championship, we had like 30 guys and all of our friends come out and support,” Kailey Willis said. “They drove to the west side, and they came to watch our championship game. And I think their energy gives us energy, and it’s like we have. So, we’re trying to prove something to them, to show them to put on a show is what I think of it.”

The supportive West Valley community rallies behind this Eagles team, eager to shake off this start and repeat a positive ending, as they so often do.

“The high school is important to everybody that lives in this community, whether they’ve got grandkids or kids or, you know, just neighbors of this community, and, so, I just feel incredibly proud to grow up in the community and then coach and teach in West Valley, ” Collins said.