ROCHESTER — When Tenino coach Trevor Fetbrandt and his team first met in the summer, they laid out a list of goals.
After a second-place finish in the 1A Evergreen League last season and a trip to the state tournament, it was natural that the Beavers had their sights set on more in 2026.
“We knew we were returning a hell of a team this year,” Fetbrandt said. “The goal was to win the league.”
The Beavers didn’t officially clinch the Evergreen League on Tuesday in Rochester, but they are now firmly in control with just three league games to play after a 2-0 road victory over their rivals.
It didn’t take long for Tenino to take control on Tuesday, as less than 90 seconds in, Kylie Gonia sent a pass forward to Callie Mickelson, who slotted home a goal to make it 1-0 while some fans were still filing into the stands.
“A big thing we were preaching was just putting balls out into space that gave us a chance to run onto,” Fetbrandt said. “When you have a collective of 11 on the field that executes a game plan together, you can jump on teams quick.”
Chances didn’t come as often for Tenino throughout the rest of the first half, as it was the Warriors that consistently had possession, often in the Beavers’ half.
Though Rochester had a majority of the possession, Grade-A chances were hard to come by.
Charley Jones, Tate Carbonneau, Preslee Fisher, Georgia Gore, Abby Robertson and Sophie Espino all got minutes on the Tenino back line, and together, they stayed compact and gave Rochester zero breathing room in the defensive half throughout the game.
“I thought this was the bravest we have defended in a game,” Fetbrandt said. “That collective was absolutely phenomenal … They were the reason we were able to push so many numbers and press so high on the field, because they were so sound in the back.”
After more than 75 minutes at 1-0, that high press led to Tenino’s second goal. It was Mickelson again, this time unassisted after winning the ball near the box.
Fetbrandt said it was a perfect example of a “half-chance,” another thing he and his group have discussed ad nauseam throughout the fall.
“Sometimes the ball is not gonna lay perfect, sometimes there’s a defender taking away part of the goal,” Fetbrandt said. “But if it’s a half chance, give it a go and see what happens.”
After the final whistle, Rochester coach Matt Ashton reflected on the offensive performance, noting that the Warriors didn’t take advantage of the possession they had throughout the game.
He said that there were too many long balls into Tenino’s defensive front, and added that they didn’t connect enough passes together to form a consistent threat.
By the end of the night, Rochester had managed just two shots as opposed to Tenino’s 16.
“We’ll learn from it,” Ashton said.
Ashton did credit his defense for their performance, noting it helped having McKenna Bocook back in the outfield. She had been playing goalkeeper while Zoe Ferrer healed from an injury, but Ferrer was in net on Tuesday.
“I think that helps that central defensive area, just having people back in the positions they’re used to,” Ashton said.
Ferrer finished the night with six saves.
With a league title and the No. 1 seed now almost certainly out of the question, Ashton and the Warriors will turn their attention towards securing the No. 2 seed, which would give them a home district tournament game.
To do that, Rochester (7-5-2, 4-2 1A Evergreen) will need to finish on top of Montesano, which stands at 3-2 in league play at the conclusion of Tuesday’s games.
The Warriors topped the Bulldogs 3-1 in the two teams’ first meeting on Sept. 29, and a win in the rematch would secure the head-to-head tiebreaker and would guarantee the Warriors the second seed.
With the victory, the Beavers sit at 5-0 atop the league standings, two games ahead of Rochester and Montesano. Thanks to Tuesday’s victory over the Warriors, the Beavers have the head-to-head tiebreaker secured over Rochester.
Though the Beavers have already beaten Montesano this season, that tiebreaker is not clinched, as the two teams will play each other in Tenino’s regular season finale on Oct. 22.
Before then, though, Tenino can officially clinch the league title with wins over Hoquiam and Elma, their next two league opponents.
The Beavers (11-1-1) will host the Grizzlies on Thursday.
“It’s one game at a time,” Fetbrandt said. “Hoquiam is the next objective.”
