Undefeated Bainbridge wins state title in thrilling shootout
Published 1:30 am Monday, June 1, 2026
The No. 1-seeded Bainbridge Spartans (26-0) secured their first boys soccer championship since 2013, beating the No. 2-seeded Squalicum Storm (21-0-1) 2-1 in a thrilling penalty kick shootout May 30 at Federal Way Stadium.
Spartan goalkeeper Cooper Harrington came up huge in the shootout, delivering three crucial saves to help his team capture the state title. Bainbridge scored on three of its four penalty kicks. In the semifinals, the Spartans overcame an early deficit to beat No. 12 seed Sehome 2-1 May 29.
The championship was a bit of revenge for Bainbridge, who was also the No. 1 seed last year but fell to Olympic League rival North Kitsap in the semifinals and ended up placing fourth.
“I’m proud of these gentlemen for showing up every day to complete the perfect season,” Bainbridge head coach Mark Nowak said. “This was a program-wide effort to drive the winning culture.”
Bainbridge found themselves down early after the Storm put a goal within the first ten minutes of the match. Despite being down a goal, the Spartans controlled possession of the ball for the majority of the beginning of the match, forcing the ball into Squalicum territory consistently.
Harrington made an acrobatic save, keeping the Spartans’ deficit at one with 11 minutes remaining in the half. The Storm almost pushed another goal in, but it was ruled offside, negating the score.
The second half is where the Spartans found their way.
While Bainbridge appeared to be on their heels at the beginning of the second half, Spartan defenseman Ryder Mortensen put in a goal off an assist from senior midfielder Blake Moyer, tying the game back up at one apiece.
“Blake had two of the finest assists I’ve ever seen in back-to-back games to equalize in the semifinal and final,” Nowak said.
Harrington began to encounter a more ferocious offensive attack from the Storm after the Spartans’ first goal, but successfully blocked the barrage of shots on goal he was facing.
No goals were scored for the remainder of the match and overtime period, which meant a penalty kick shootout would decide the championship.
Harrington caught the last Squalicum shot attempt in the shootout to secure the championship and perfect season for the Spartans.
“This weekend, the group showed that they can drive through adversity by coming from behind,” Nowak said. “They manifested that they are the best team in the state at winning games, and we saw it this weekend.”
