By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror
Brittany Orr and Jenna Peterson couldn’t have asked for a better situation. Orr, a Todd Beamer senior, and Peterson, a senior at Decatur, both inked national letters of intent Wednesday to play soccer in the fall at Concordia University in Portland.
“We have played against each other from the beginning and have been playing on the same club team for the last five years,” Orr said.
The two have been teammates on the select Mount Rainier FC Santos and have patrolled the backline on the team coached by Bill Crook, former professional soccer player and father of Beamer players Jordan and Holland Crook.
“I play in the center and Brittany plays out wide,” Peterson said.
The Federal Way pair will be roommates at Concoridia.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Orr said. “We haven’t been around each other a lot in the past, so we aren’t going to be sick of each other.”
Orr and Peterson both visited Concordia on separate occasions. Orr was the first to commit to playing for the Cavaliers.
“They saw me at a tournament and wrote me a letter,” Orr said. “I wrote them back, but I was not sure I wanted to go there. But I went down there and really liked it.”
“It was a really good fit and with Brittany going there, it made it a perfect fit,” Peterson said.
Orr helped guide Beamer into the Class 4A state championship game in the fall. The Titans eventually lost to unbeaten Eastlake in the title match on penalty kicks. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie during regulation and a pair of five-minute overtime sessions.
Beamer finished the season with an impressive 20-2-0 record, with its only losses coming in the postseason. Orr and the Titans also rolled through the South Puget Sound League South Division unbeaten in 2006.
The Titans were more than dominating this season. Beamer outscored opponents 57-2 during the regular season.
Orr earned honorable mention All-State honors in the fall after finishing with 15 goals and seven assists. She also had four games with multiple goals, including a hat trick during a 4-1 win over Puyallup on Oct. 2.
Orr also had the game-winning goal during a penalty-kick shootout win over Kentwood in the state quarterfinals. And all this offense came while playing either in the midfield or backline.
Peterson proved to be one of the better defenders in the SPSL in the fall. The senior sweeper is one of the fastest players in the area and tallied one goal and one assist during the season. The Decatur defense had seven shutouts during the year and Peterson was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection.
As a sophomore, Peterson led the Gators in goals with seven while playing a forward position. She moved back into the defensive line during her junior and seniors seasons.
The Concordia girls soccer program has been one of the top NAIA teams in the nation in recent years. Last season, the Cavaliers finished with an 18-2-2 overall record while cruising through to a 10-0-0 mark in Cascade Collegiate Conference play to earn the No. 4 ranking in the final NAIA Women’s Soccer Poll.
Concordia opened the NAIA championships with a 2-0 win against Kansas Wesleyan before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Martin Methodist in penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie in regulation.
“It’s a huge relief to get this out of the way,” Peterson said. “We have both been accepted to the school and are ready to go.”
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
