W.F. West’s best district playoff performance in years has come to a close after a 1-0 loss to Washougal in double overtime at home in the 2A District 4 playoffs Tuesday.
The Bearcats, who earned the No. 2 seed in the 2A Evergreen Conference, were coming off a 6-0 loss to Ridgefield, the Greater St. Helens League’s No. 3 seed, in the opening round of districts Saturday. They played much better against the GSHL’s fifth-seed Washougal, outshooting the Panthers 7-2 on shots on goal. They just couldn’t find the back of the net.
“It was a tight game and we definitely had our chances,” W.F. West coach Allen Anderson said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish them.”
Anderson credited the Panthers’ keeper, Makenzi Gerhke, for gobbling up the Bearcat’s opportunities.
“It’s a tough way to end the season but this is the best we’ve played in a playoff atmosphere in quite a few years,” Anderson said. “Proud of the girls and their effort.”
Nine Bearcat seniors played their final game in a W.F. West soccer jersey: midfielder Maddy Casper, defender Heidi Jones, defender Erin Jensen, midfielder Olivia Remund, defender Kaylynne Dowling, midfielder Kyla McCallum, midfielder Elizabeth Patana, defender Jocelyn Robertson and defender Audrey Toynbee.
Anderson said this group of seniors, which helped the Bearcats to a 10-6 overall record, is irreplaceable and he’ll be sad to see them go. All nine have been with the program since they were freshmen, and all but Dowling started off of JV and worked their way up to varsity.
“This is a pretty special group of seniors,” Anderson said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with this group over the years and I’m really going to miss them. I have to get used to these girls not being around.”
