TENINO — The number two is quite prevalent.
Two weeks ago when the Toledo High School girls soccer team walked off the field after a grueling 4-3 loss to Cle Elum, it served a larger purpose than a regular non-league tilt in late October.
It was a 1-1 game at half and two Warriors goals three minutes apart proved to be the difference. The premise to schedule them, like the Riverhawks did with Freeman and Crosspoint Christian and a couple Class 2A and 3A schools, was to get this experienced roster ready for the playoffs.
“For us to all be healthy and playing to our full potential at the perfect time, it showed (who we are),” senior midfielder Kailea Lairson said. “We all kind of realized we could make it by districts and win after the first round.”
Two years of heartbreak. Two years of grind-it-out district title games. And two years of going one-and-done in the state tournament.
Now, two wins away from a goal that very few Lewis County teams have accomplished.
Another electric start in the goal-scoring department and a defense that is rounding into form with a third consecutive clean sheet, top-seeded Toledo hoisted the Class 1B/2B District 4 Championship trophy for the first time ever by blanking No. 2 Onalaska 4-0 on Saturday afternoon on The Blacktop.
“It is awesome for them, I’m so happy,” Riverhawks head coach Horst Malunat said. “Cle Elum was the turning point. I believed in them, but they started believing in themselves after that.”
The last time Toledo made the Final Four was 2021, when it lost to Adna in the semis on a penalty shootout and proceeded to take fourth. That was the last time a 2B or an area team has left with hardware.
It’ll come down to Sunday to see where the C2BL and now district champions are seeded for the state tournament. The Round of 16 match will be either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We’ve been working so hard and everyone has wanted this,” Lairson said. “We knew this year, it was finally going to happen. It is kind of obvious we should be top-four.”
For as much as the strikers have garnered the attention, the unsung hero for the Riverhawks (13-3-2) has been their back line, captained by senior Zaya Norberg and sophomore Tehya Green. They’ve allowed just three goals to league opponents and just 14 all season.
Oh and there’s Lairson, the C2BL’s Defensive MVP.
For the embarrassment of riches Toledo has offensively, it is just as spoiled defensively. Senior keeper Ivana Cabrera also recorded two saves.
“We’re really balanced,” Malunat said. “When push comes to shove, we have each other.”
Lairson opened the scoring with a strike from beyond the 18-yard box into the top right corner in the 17th minute. Off a counter-attack then an interception in the attacking-third, freshman Aspen Cooper laced a shot that deflected off Loggers goalie Leah Hamilton and into the back of the net in the 32nd minute.
Just before the halftime whistle, Cooper found Xtyn Norberg for a goal in the 39th minute. Cooper capped the day with a quick second half goal in the 41st minute.
Toledo outshot Onalaska 10-2.
“When we did (score), they all got (rolling),” Lairson said.
“I changed formations to cater to our speed; when we play on turf, it totally changes everything about us,” Malunat said. “Once we score, it’s like the light switch goes on and we see blood in the water.”
All Christopher VanClifford could do was watch it unfold. Onalaska (12-5-1) was seeking its first district title in six years, but settled for second.
“Today wasn’t our day,” VanClifford, the Loggers head coach, said. “We showed our age a little bit. We know what to do, we know how to play, just got to keep trucking.”
The third goal allowed was the inability to clear the ball out. There were a couple of runs that were erased quickly, including a ball to Emilee Rodriguez that she couldn’t finish in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Still, VanClifford believes his group could be a top-eight seed. The Loggers’ signature win is a 3-1 verdict over Mount Vernon Christian plus they upended Highland, a program that eliminated them from state a couple years ago, 2-1.
“A win at state is still possible,” VanClifford said. “I think we’re a top-eight team, legitimately. More than many teams I’ve coached, they connect passes really well and they move for each other.”
Toledo believes it has the roster, talent and motivation to make it to Mount Tahoma High School. The previous two times have set a more state-ready group oozing with confidence. It’s been over a month since the Riverhawks have been held to under two goals.
Two wins away from erasing two years of early exits.
“If we play the way we did Thursday and today, we’re right there,” Malunat said.
