TENINO – There are several connections that tie W.F. West High School’s girls soccer team to the Battle on the Blacktop.
Head coach Kevin Schultz was the brains behind the annual summer tournament six years ago when he was roaming the sidelines in Stone City. Plus, it gives the Bearcats an early head start to figure out chemistry.
“We’re very excited (to see) the development,” W.F. West assistant coach Mark Wilks said. “We have aspirations of going to state. (After the tournament), they’ll be doing student-led training until tryouts.”
The other constant has been the Bearcats being in a winner-take-all match.
For the third straight summer, they will be in the championship contest after going 3-0 in Pool B with comfortable victories over North Mason, Rochester and Centralia.
W.F. West will face Tenino on Sunday in an all-area showdown.
“It is a great atmosphere here,” Wilks said.
Despite the graduation of all-league goalkeeper Staysha Fluetsch, the defense has allowed just two goals in three games. And Ashlen Gruginski has been the beneficiary of midfield passing to score five goals.
The forward scored two goals quickly in the second half to dispatch Centralia in the last pool play bout.
“What’s been wonderful to see is the build-up, multiple combinations of passing,” Wilks said. “She looks good finishing. It has got to go through many other players to get to her. They are making her look good.”
All the Beavers needed was a victory over Shelton, newly up to Class 3A, to get back to their home tourney final match.
A draw would have given the Highclimbers the tiebreaker advantage.
Maria Summers gave Tenino an early lead and Callie Mickelson added an insurance goal to give it a 2-0 victory. It is in the finals for the first time since it won the event in 2021.
“It has been cool to rebuild and this is a big moment for us,” Beavers head coach Dave Montgomery said. “We’re over the moon. The older group saw some eighth graders and even a seventh grader get in at the end. We’re so excited for what we can do this year.”
Much of the final match versus Shelton featured Tenino’s wingers getting in space and winning one-on-one battles.
“We’re extremely proud of our winger play,” Montgomery said.
Unlike W.F. West bringing two squads to Battle on the Blacktop, the Tigers opted to send their juniors and seniors to the LCC tournament down south and bring their fresh/soph team to Tenino.
It nearly played in the title game, but due to a 3-1 loss to the Bearcats, will play for third against Shelton on Sunday.
“We’ve got a very good sophomore, freshman class,” Centralia head coach Luis Magana Reyna said. “Get them some playing experience before the season. I’m very proud of what they’re doing.”
The Tigers posted two clean sheets against Rochester and North Mason and were all knotted at zeros versus W.F. West. Even in the loss, Reyna felt there were positive steps taken.
“A lot of these girls are coming in from rec soccer,” Reyna said. “Our goal is to make it to districts. There is a lot of tough competition.”
In one of the three matches, the Warriors only had 10 players available. Still, they were able to keep it close and had an equalizing goal waved off due to a foul.
Coach Matt Ashton then saw Rochester put together its lone win of pool play, 3-2 over first-year participant North Mason.
“Improving again from what we did earlier in the first two games is nice to see,” Ashton said.
Piper Quarnstrom, Lizzy Hoover and Kailyn Black netted goals for the Warriors. Black scored on a corner that curved into the back of the net late in the second half.
“The freshmen, they’re showing they're able to play at this level,” Ashton said. “They could be a good swinger for us.”
Off a state tournament berth last fall, the Pirates still believe they will be a force in Class 2B. They were tested in Pool A and despite an 0-3 showing, head coach Patrick Richardson had some good things to take away.
“We have a lot of young players,” Richardson said. “Even a couple of them today mentioned making state again. We’ve got the pieces to do it.”
Adna nearly came away with a point against the W.F. West ‘B’ team, but let up a late go-ahead goal on a breakaway.
“Making strides each game as we went through the tournament and I’ve seen it from the first game to the third game,” Richardson said.
