Tenino boys soccer’s run finally came to an end in a 1-0 loss to Montesano in the 1A District IV tournament on Tuesday.
Montesano, which has been a thorn in the Beavers side this year, used a PK goal from Jiovanni Torres in the 31st minute, which would end up being all the Bulldogs needed for the victory.
“It was fun to watch them compete, especially their response in the second half,” Tenino coach Kevin Schultz said.
It was an emotional loss for the Beavers’ and Schultz in his final game as their coach. Schultz joined the five seniors — Toby Suess, Zach Byer, Cash Gallaher, Paydon Henderson, Braxton Williams — when they were freshman, and now their time as Beavers comes to an end together.
“You could tell they all wanted to keep the season going,” Schultz said. “I’m so proud of them.”
When Schultz and the seniors joined the team four years ago, the Beavers hadn’t won a game in three seasons. Now they’ve qualified for back-to-back district tournaments, and would have played in the state tournament last season if the tourney wasn’t canceled due to the pandemic.
“Proud of how far they’ve come and how much they’ve gone through,” Schultz said. “Over the four years, they’ve really built something here; a different culture that will last. It was really cool to compete with them.”
