I'd take the entire soap tray out from the machine..it'll either have tabs on either side that you push in, or you lift the tray up and out. Either way it's an easy job. The nasty part is this..softener and soap build up like you wouldn't believe, it will have blocked the outlet for the softener and this is why you have the water in the tray. Most washer trays will come apart even further so that you can access under the lids and into the drainage ports-there aren't any tricks to them. Try pouring boiling water over...careful as it does splash up. and then leave to soak in very hot water to try and soften/dissolve the residue. It gets pretty black and mouldy in there-
You can also check the machine where the tray goes for anything blocking the path the water/softener/soap takes to the drum.