After letting up an early goal on a set piece, the W.F. West High School girls soccer team answered the bell and pulled off a 3-2 Evergreen Conference triumph over Black Hills on Thursday night in Chehalis.
Ashlen Gruginski knotted the game at one in the 15th minute on an assist by Emily Mallonee and gave the Bearcats (5-1, 1-0 EvCo) the lead for good in the 36th minute, assisted by Jaelynn Fuentes.
“Good teams can have their situations where they don’t play their best, but find a way to have the lead,” W.F. West head coach Kevin Schultz said. “There was a little momentum swing.”
Black Hills (2-3-1, 0-1) started off on the right foot on a corner kick goal in the sixth minute headed in by Hailey Tinsley. Ella Jarmin blasted home a penalty kick after the Bearcats were called for a hand ball in the 67th minute.
Mallonee netted the third goal for W.F. West in the 53rd minute on a rebound shot. The Bearcats face off against Tumwater on Tuesday in a matchup that could determine the early leader in the league.
“We might have been looking ahead a little bit,” Schultz said. “They came out more aggressive and put us on our back heel. We started to play better.”
