PUYALLUP — Shorewood boys soccer head coach Shaun Warner struggled to come up with the “right” words for his team. Sitting in a circle on the track of Sparks Stadium, some Stormrays cried quietly and held each other in the aftermath of a 3-2 loss in the 3A state championship game against Mercer Island.

Warner, choked up by the weight of the season coming to a close, could only tell the back-to-back-to-back District 1 champs and now state runners-up how much they meant to him.

“You guys will always be family,” Warner said to his team.

Warner found his footing as he went on, recounting how proud he was of his squad for continuing to fight down 3-0 with just over 11 minutes to play.

The Stormrays (19-3-1) were completely overwhelmed by an early second-half onslaught by the Islanders. Merc

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