TUMWATER — When Abbey Bergquist saw the head coach opening for Tumwater High School’s girls soccer team, she jumped at the chance to return to her alma mater.
She graduated from Tumwater in 2013 and returned to be an assistant coach for five years starting in 2016. She grew up in the area and only knew green, yellow and white.
“It is my way of returning the favor,” Bergquist said. “It is always important to remember where you came from and remember your roots.”
Consider Tuesday’s non-league victory over Onalaska powered by the new coach bump.
Five goals in the opening 33 minutes and north of 30 total shots pushed the Thunderbirds to an 8-0, their first of the season. From the opening kick, they dominated possession and moved the ball around their attacking-third.
By the time the 20-minute mark hit, Tumwater (1-1) had already registered double digit shots on goal.
“We really try to focus on them to perform to their level, regardless of the opponent,” Bergquist said. “We let some details slide today that I wasn’t super happy about. For me, all the details are the same. We don't cut any corners.”
It isn’t just Bergquist that is back on the sideline. One of her top assistants, Stephanie Carson, is also an alum and was Bergquist’s freshman coach. Ian Connell and Travis Larson round out the four-person staff.
From doing a little sprinting before kickoff to plenty of energy on the bench, the T-Birds are hoping they have the ingredients to snap a two-year spell of losing in a win-and-in state tournament match.
Eight seniors, led by two-time all-league pick Kayla Pope and all-around athlete Cassidy Hedin, provide the leadership offensively. Returning defender Chloe Foos and goalie Wendy Ferrell anchor the back line.
“We really focused on possession-based play,” Bergquist said.
Pope got the scoring started in the 11th minute. Sophie Boatright and Hedin scored four minutes apart as did Brielle Clark, who found the back of the net in the 29th and 33rd minutes. Kennedy Riedl, Sadie Hedin and Kallie Wade all scored in the second half.
Tumwater will head to Eastlake on Thursday.
Onalaska (0-2) has dropped both matches to higher classification teams in the area. Yet head coach Christopher Van Clifford felt Tuesday was what his group needed.
“The girls had a lot of questions, so that was super helpful to see it right in front of them; have it happen at full speed,” Van Clifford said. “Playing a team of that caliber, but maybe not playing all their starters, made it feel like a postseason game.”
The Loggers beefed up the non-league slate that continues on Thursday against Crosspoint Christian, the No. 2 seed in last year’s state tournament and third place finisher, on Thursday night.
Kaiyah Sandridge had a free kick chance in the 32nd minute that sailed over the bar. Onalaska had a couple more chances in the second half to avoid the shutout, but couldn’t cross the line.
“They stayed positive on the field today,” Van Clifford said. “Maybe there’s not a 2B team as good as Tumwater is, there’s some awfully good 2B teams that play like Tumwater does.”
