The No. 11 Adna girls soccer team couldn’t overcome a quick barrage to open the second half on the other side of the mountains, losing 3-1 to No. 6 Cle Elum-Roslyn in the first round of the 2B state tournament Tuesday to end its season.
“Overall it was a very even game and we played with the toughness and aggressiveness to battle and have a shot at them,” Adna coach Patrick Richardson said.” “We held them scoreless in the first half, which I don’t think they were prepared for.”
The Warriors, who have cracked double-digits five times this year, came out firing after a scoreless opening 40 minutes, scoring two minutes into the second half and adding another goal three minutes later.
Adna got the wheels back on in time to keep things from spiraling completely, and got a goal back in the 70th minute from Lydia Tobin. But Cle Elum saw the match out on defense, and earned and converted a penalty kick in stoppage time to get its insurance back at the last minute.
“You can tell (there was) a skill level difference between the teams but that doesn’t take away from our mental strength or our passion to battle,” Richardson said.
Adna ends its season with a 9-8-3 record, having won nine of its final 13 matches. The Pirates will graduate five seniors: Margarite Humphrey, Jordanne Moon, Reagan Naillon, Gabby Solem and Myra Medina.
“When we went through our non-league schedule and started league with a record of 0-4-3, people thought we were done,” Richardson said. “But these girls never batted an eye. They just kept grinding and doing what they needed to do. And that took us to State and gave us a legitimate shot at moving on. That’s all you can ask for.”
