TENINO — At the halftime break on Tuesday, Tenino held a 1-0 lead, but it felt like it could’ve been more.
The Beavers had taken control as the first half went along, maintaining possession and stringing chances together against an Onalaska team that was hanging around.
“We started a little slow again,” Tenino coach Dave Montgomery said. “But once you get that momentum, the game bursts open like a dam for you.”
The game burst open in a big way in the second half for the Beavers, as they scored four goals and ran away with a 5-0 win.
Callie Mickelson scored three goals in an 18-minute span, and Paisley Garcia connected on a shot from more than 20 yards out to cap off the victory.
It’s Mickelson’s second-straight hat trick, as she also scored three goals in Tenino’s win over Aberdeen on Saturday.
Montgomery commended Mickelson’s “nose for the goal,” saying it kickstarted the offensive onslaught.
“Once we got that second goal early in the second half, we were playing with confidence and we were playing on the front foot,” Montgomery said.
Kyla Watson, who scored the game’s first goal in the 33rd minute, got an assist on Mickelson’s first goal, while Holly Thoren and Maria Summers logged assists on her second and third.
Tate Carbonneau earned an assist on Watson’s goal in the first half, and Mickelson also recorded an assist on Garcia’s goal in the final minutes.
“It’s really cool to see how the team wants to pass the ball around,” Montgomery said. “And we were able to finish.”
Onalaska was able to go blow-for-blow in terms of scoring chances early, earning three corner kicks in the first 20 minutes, but as Tenino took control, the chances came far and few between.
“There were times where we saw flashes of what it’s supposed to look like,” Onalaska coach Christopher Van Clifford said. “And it looked really good … There were moments where we let up some and let them have it.”
The Loggers ended up tallying six shots on goal, but Tenino keeper AJ Kalkus saved all six shots she faced.
“When we can kind of put it together and do it consistently, I think we’re gonna be in pretty good shape,” Van Clifford said.
The Loggers (2-3-1) will return home on Monday to face Forks, while Tenino will be back on the black turf on Thursday to face W.F. West.
The Beavers (3-1-1) and Bearcats met over the summer in the Battle of the Blacktop Championship, which Tenino won in penalty kicks.
“W.F. West is coming back even stronger,” Montgomery said, while also shouting out W.F. West coach Kevin Schultz, who used to coach at Tenino.
“He’s gonna want to win on the black turf,” Montgomery said. “And I know the girls are gonna want a little bit of revenge. That’s gonna be a really tough game for us.”
