KELSO — It’s been said many times that soccer is the beautiful game. Well, that may be true for the winners. But for the losers, especially those of the tough-luck variety, there are other words that may feel more appropriate.

Brutal. Or perhaps horrible, if you prefer.

That’s how first-year Toledo head coach Horst Malunat felt after his team spent most of the previous 90 minutes on the offensive end of the pitch, but still fell 1-0 to Tonasket in a penalty kick shootout to open, and simultaneously close, their run in the 2B girls soccer state tournament.

“We didn’t finish even though we basically had them on their heels the whole time but if you don’t get that goal, soccer's brutal,” Malunat said. “It’s a beautiful game but it’s also a horrible game because statistically you can dominate a team but still lose.

“I mean, I still love it, but also, it’s tough,” Malunat added. “I just wanted that one goal and I think that would have patched us through.”

And it’s not like the Riverhawks didn’t have their chances. Playing through a late fall squall that pelted the artificial turf at Schroeder Field in Kelso with rain drops that were as fat as they were cold, both teams seemed to shed a few IQ points on the pitch to battling the elements. Those conditions led to an outbreak of big kicks and an overall direct attack that kept Toledo on the front foot most of the night, but failed to create many high quality looks at the net.

Tonasket goalkeeper Dixie Williams tallied 32 saves on the night, and put her body on the line several times to slide in on the wet turf just in time to steal the ball off the toe of an attacking Riverhawk.

Toledo’s best look came midway through the second half when a shot on goal was blocked but then came bounding back toward another Riverhawk. But again, Dixie was able to scramble quickly enough to absorb the putback attempt with her well-worn mittens.

“I just kept thinking that goal was going to come because we were down on their end the whole time, but their keeper was aggressive,” Malunat noted.

On the flip side, Toledo’s defense went largely untested as its midfielders mostly refused to let the field flip.

The few times the Tigers did wind up on the attacking third their shots wound up off course like Magellen in a typhoon. Those efforts helped the Riverhawks and goalie Abril Cabrera maintain a clean sheet through more than 80 minutes of regulation play, and then 10 more minutes of golden goal overtime action.

“We don’t give up a lot of shots,” Malunat noted. “Sometimes we make some mistakes because we’re young, but we held out and the penalty kicks decided this one.”

The Riverhawks wound up falling 5-4 in the shootout after making it all the way to the seventh kicker. Hallie Cournyer, Hope Gould, Kailea Lairson, and Ryah Stanley made their attempts from the spot, but Toledo missed three shots to allow the Tigers a path to victory.

“Once you get outside the realm of five you’re kind of looking at a toss up,” Malunat noted.

Miriam Gallardo, Grace Casterjon, Rian Sutton, Sarah Wirth and Jaycee Norris sank their tries for Tonasket in the shootout to steal the win away in front of an impressive traveling contingent of fans that made the seven hour trek from the hinterlands of Washington.

The loss left the Riverhawks searching for the proper perspective as they packed up the pop-up tents and bagged up the soccer balls one final time.

“Their coach said we have a helluva team and we played really well and I kind of get tired of hearing that, but I have a young group,” Malunat, “Our weakness is that we’re young, and our strength is that we’re young.”

In a season where it featured just one senior on the roster, Toledo finished the season with a record of 10-8-1 that included a third place finish in the Central 2B League standings and a runner up finish in the District IV Tournament.

Those accomplishments represented a marked improvement in Malunat’s first year as head coach after the Riverhawks won just four games in 2023, with one forfeit on their ledger. And with a state appearance now tucked under their collective waistbands, the Riverhawks seem like a safe bet to return for an even deeper postseason next fall with.

“Hope Gould was the only player who’d been to State prior to tonight,” Malunat noted of his l one senior. “I want to recognize her because she’s our captain and she had a lot of young kids she was leading.

"She was the last one who had experience at State and so she helped get us here. We were just one kick away from moving on.”