Tumwater, Capital, Olympia and Tenino high school girls soccer advanced to WIAA Girls Soccer State Playoffs to represent Thurston County this November for the 2021-22 post season.
Tumwater defeated Selah 3-2 November 10 and then fell to top ranked Archbishop Murphy 5-0 in Everett November 13. Tumwater will place in the top eight in 2A state rankings.
Coach Brett Bartlett congratulated Archbishop, but was thrilled at the accomplishment of his team. “Archbishop is the best team we played this year,” stated Bartlett. “I can’t complain about our season. 17 wins in 20 games. Advanced to State quarterfinals. Our seniors did a great job of building the cohesiveness of this team. These kids truly cared about each other’s success.”
Capital reached the round of 16 in 3A WIAA play losing to Bellevue 5-0 Friday November 12 in Auburn. Down 2-0 early, Senior Caroline Penner floated a chip to the upper corner midway through the half that was brilliantly saved. Bellevue then increased their lead to 4-0 by half. Capital never was able to settle or challenge during the second half.
Capital Coach Adriana Montes acknowledged after the game the ability Bellevue had to capitalize on some of her team’s mistakes, but was still positive on her team’s season. “This has been an amazing season for this team and program,” Montes remarked. “I couldn’t be more happy as their coach. They were top three in League, they were top three in Districts and not only that made it as a top 12 state team.”
The 4A Olympia girls team also qualified for State. They played fourth-ranked Skyline November 10 in Skyline. Skyline defeated the Bears 2-0, but head coach Tamara Liska was positive about her team on the year. “The girls left it all out the field and I am super proud of them,” Liska spoke after the game. “The girls, they just never let up this season, even with the bumps that came along. I’m proud of how hard they worked with and for each other. It is a great group of kids and an amazing core returning.”
The only other Thurston County team that saw post season State play was 1A Tenino who took on rival Montesano in 1A round of 8 play November 13 in Tenino. Tenino fell 4-2 in penalty kicks. For the Beaver team, especially the core group of seniors, the team still was thrilled with 58 wins over four seasons including two Evergreen 1A League titles, a District Championship and four state berths.
