The Tenino U19 girls soccer team rode a win in its opener to a third-place finish in the Kick in the Grass Tournament over the weekend in Tumwater
In that first game, Tenino handled Shelton, handing the Highclimbers a 3-0 defeat thanks to a brace from Kyla Watson.
“It was awesome to see a complete performance with high effort,” assistant Trevor Fetbrandt said. “Winning 50/50s, winning out of the air, and playing simple combinations to break lines.”
The Beavers had less success in Game 2, a 3-1 loss against the Lightning, which includes several Tumwater graduates and current South Puget Sound Community College players, and a late defensive miscommunication led to the only goal of Game 3, a 1-0 loss to the Rainier Soccer Alliance (Puyallup).
“In every metric, we played the better game except for balls that find the back of the net,” Fetbrandt said. “But that’s soccer sometimes.”
The competitiveness from the group was a welcome sign for coach Dave Montgomery, who noted that all but two players were high schoolers, while the other two will head to SPSCC.
The Tenino U14 team also participated in the tournament, and it also went 1-2. The first loss, a 2-1 loss to the Timber Barons (Cowlitz County), was especially tough as the Beavers had a disallowed goal in the third minute and a handball in the box to give the Barons the game-winning PK in the final three minutes.
After a 2-0 loss to the NK Serpents, the Beavers ended on a win, beating RSA 1-0. Emily Battin, who was celebrating her birthday, came away with the game-winning goal.
Fetbrandt noted that without subs for most of the game, he was hoping the girls would show some grit, and he was pleased to see them do just that.
“They were battling all game,” Fetbrandt said. “The opponents got some momentum after the half when they subbed in a whole new lineup which made them fresh, but we weathered the storm.”
Montgomer added that the U14 team was formed quickly and included some seventh graders and a couple of kids from Twin City Union in addition to the regular eighth-graders.
“We’re so impressed by their great attitudes and how hard they work,” Montgomery said. “We’re excited for the future with these players.”
