Marina Smith notched a hat trick, Rose Dillon added a goal and Toledo shutout Napavine, 4-0, in the opening round of the 2B District 4 crossover playoffs Monday in Napavine.
The win secures the Riverhawks their first state playoff bid since 2019, when they finished fifth in state.
Dillon started the scoring off in the 9th minute, followed by Smith’s three goals in the 42nd, 65th and 70th minutes.
Toledo, the South Division’s No. 3 seed, was too much to handle for a young Napavine squad, with only two seniors, that placed second in the South Division to earn the No. 2 seed.
“Their experience took a toll on us,” Napavine assistant coach Chris Tarabochia said. “It’s not how we wanted it to end but it was still a great year for our program. Big credit to our seniors (Makensee Taliaferro and Natalya Marcial). They helped not only offensively but they did so much off the field. The torch has been passed on.”
The Tigers end their season with an 11-4 overall record, a huge improvement from their two wins last season.
Toledo (12-4) will now move on to the district semifinals to face Kalama on Thursday in Kalama. Despite knowing they have a state spot locked in, Riverhawks’ coach Noel Vazquez said he doesn’t want his team to be complacent. There’s still a lot on the line.
“It’s obviously in the back of our minds that we have three games guaranteed, but we’ve got to focus on our next game, Kalama, and make sure to give ourselves the best seed possible,” Vazquez said. “One of the benefits today is we were playing a physical Napavine team. It was a good tuneup. Now we have to prepare ourselves mentally.
