By the end of last season, the DeLaSalle girls’ soccer team had been a couple of years removed from its former role as doormats in the Tri-Metro Conference.

But it wasn’t until their final game of 2012 that it hit the Islanders just how far they had come.

Seeded No. 7 in the Class 1A, Section 4 playoffs, they surprised almost everyone by advancing to the finals against defending state champion Blake.

“There was a sign-up sheet in the hallway of the school for a fan bus to the game,” coach Tim McDonald said. “It was full. People were writing their names in the margin.”

Two buses went to the game, as well as the school pep band. DeLaSalle played Blake tough, trailing by one goal for most of the game before losing 2-0. A loss, sure, but to most of the players on the team, it felt like a victory.

“To have that many people recognize that we were doing well and come to the game was awesome,” senior forward Celia Mullin said. “Basketball and football always get noticed at DeLaSalle. But girls’ soccer? That never happens. It made us want to come back this year and do even better.”

So far, so good.

The Islanders are 10-2-1 this season and entered the State Coaches Association Class 1A rankings for the first time in team history. They have been ranked as high as No. 5 and are currently in their second consecutive week sitting at No. 7.

“It was really cool to get ranked,” senior goalkeepr Rachel Aubart said. “It shows that other coaches see us and respect us.”

The Islanders are not a team of superstars. There are no big guns up front or ultraslick playmakers in the middle. It’s all about teamwork, senior defender Anna Futterer said.

“Our identity is pretty spread out,” she said. “We have a strong defense but a pretty strong offense, too. And in the middle, we’re pretty good there, too.”

Of all the Islanders, Futterer is the only player to have experienced the not-too-distant lean years. She was a freshman on the last DeLaSalle team to finish with a losing record, so she holds a special appreciation for the remarkable turnaround.

“In my freshman year, it was just trying to have fun and maybe win a couple of games,” Futterer said. “Then, the next year, we completely flipped our record. It was a monumental moment to finally be above .500.”

A resulting influx of soccer talent is cited as a big reason for their continued improvement.

“We’ve got a lot more good players coming in,” said junior forward Hannah Steiner, the team’s leading scorer. “The better we get, the more momentum we have and the more talented players we pick up.”

But talent alone is only one piece of the puzzle. The soccer landscape is cratered with skilled teams that have not been able to get along. That, Mullin said, has not been a problem for this group.

“We really started bonding so well last year,” she said. “We went to an apple orchard together, had team sleepovers. You could tell on the bus that we were building new relationships. We weren’t just talking to the same people. We are all so close to each other.”

But winning breeds expectations. Opponents start game-planning to take things away. Pressure starts to build. Which, all agree, is exactly the way they want it.

“At DeLaSalle, there is a tradition of persevering,” Steiner said. “Whether it’s working to [develop] a soccer team or get a field to play on, we always push hard to get what we want. And what we’re pushing for now is wins.”

Futterer was succinct in her assessment of the team.

“This is the best girls’ soccer team we’ve ever had.” she said. “No question about it.”