Plenty of fouls were whistled on Tuesday night and one yellow card was shown. Several instances of face-to-face jawing and some pleasantries were exchanged.
It was a 10-month build up of emotions between W.F. West High School’s girls soccer team and Woodland. Last November, the Beavers ended the Bearcats’ season in the Class 2A District 4 tournament in Chehalis.
“We didn’t have any mercy,” sophomore Ashlen Gruginski said. “We were on it.”
The season-opener was a much different outcome.
Behind the speed in the attack and a stout debut from sophomore goalie Charlee Nelson, W.F. West posted a 3-0 shutout triumph over Woodland on a rainy night at Bearcat stadium.
It took the Bearcats (1-0) four matches to win their first game last fall. Now with head coach Kevin Schultz back in the fold for year two, they begin on the right foot.
“We talked a little about a revenge game,” Schultz said.
Of the seven players gone from a 9-9 campaign, the biggest was all-area and all-league netminder Staysha Fluetsch. Nelson stepped in and kept Woodland’s forwards at bay with highlight reel saves.
One of them was leaping to the top of the crossbar and batted the ball away. In the second half, she nearly allowed at least two goals and scooped them up before crossing the line.
Add in a back line that returns all four starters and W.F. West feels confident about that side of the pitch.
“She’s going to make the opponent earn everything,” Schultz said of Nelson. “She was great today. At halftime, the back line did a good job making the adjustments we talked about.”
Reinforcements have come in the attacking third with Rhylee Beebe, a Tumwater transfer, joining the fray on the wings. Gruginski, an all-league pick last fall, sent a cross to Beebe and fired a strike in the 11th minute to put W.F. West in front.
Gruginski called Beebe “one of her best friends” and is excited to play on the same side this season.
“It was fun to watch her score,” Gruginski added.
Scoring goals was an issue for much of last season. The Bearcats have put an emphasis on finishing chances. They did so on Tuesday.
Madi Otten, another sophomore off a knee injury that wiped out her freshman campaign, scored on a rebound after Wyatt Rogerson placed her ball right to Woodland keeper’s chest. Gruginski added the final tally in the final seconds.
W.F. West had nine shots in the first half, but only four in the final 40 minutes. Woodland dominated possession in the last 25-plus minutes of the second half.
“We may have used up some energy, wore ourselves down a bit,” Schultz said. “They controlled the game more.”
The Bearcats feel they can contend for a state berth, something that hasn’t happened for girls soccer in a while.
Even with several vital positions layered between sophomores, juniors and seniors, the team chemistry has started out well and Gruginski believes it will only get better.
“We’re all a family, we’re all friends,” she said. “It is fun to play together. We will definitely be a contender.”
