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TENINO — When Kevin Schultz pieced together his schedule for the summer, it came with a bevy of reasons.
Although the W.F. West High School girls soccer team will replace five starters from an eight-person senior class, the top-end talent on offense plus one of the Evergreen Conference’s top goalkeepers are back.
Add in some underclassmen from junior varsity and ‘C’ team that could be in the mix, Schultz didn’t hesitate to load up two months worth of matches.
“Giving these players an opportunity to see different players, different combinations, was important to us,” Schultz said.
This weekend over in Yakima at the Cadet Classic held at Eisenhower High School will be the fourth of five tournaments for the Bearcats this summer. They will face fellow 2A foe Selah and Eisenhower on Friday, then take on East Valley (Yakima) on Saturday morning.
Okanogan and Pasco are the other two teams in the field. The top-four will meet in the semifinals on Saturday and the winners play for the title.
It comes after a week of W.F. West played 10 matches at the Montesano Tournament where all of its available players were in every contest.
“Giving players options to choose from,” Schultz said. “I appreciate the toughness. I’m seeing some better passing movements, program-wide.”
One of the benefits for the Bearcats throughout their athletic program is the high number of multi-sport athletes. Some of their soccer players – notably the Tobin sisters Taylor and Tanner – have played very little varsity minutes on the pitch, but have varsity time in other sports.
That likely changes in 2025.
“Getting them more time on the soccer field and more time together, should allow us in the fall to hit the ground running,” Schultz said. “They’re ready to take that next step.”
Still, the offense will go through junior standout Ashlen Gruginski once again. Already with some calls and visits to Division I programs, the forward is coming off 10 goals and 10 assists a year ago to snare first team all-league honors.
Her partners on the wing Rhylee Beebe and Lauren Kelley return. The responsibility never fell all on Gruginski’s shoulders last fall and Schultz aims to avoid it happening.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on her, but soccer is her thing,” he said. “The league is going to see a different player.”
In W.F. West’s most recent summer match, it led 2-0 in the waning minutes versus Tenino, but allowed two goals in three minutes to leave with a draw. Izzy Teeter scored in the second half for the Bearcats.
There is some uncertainty within the league with practices almost a month away. Tumwater and Black Hills will each have new head coaches. Aberdeen only lost three seniors while Centralia is adjusting some pieces.
Yet the league doesn’t move Schultz’s needle. He is looking at closing the gap between the GSHL and the EvCo in the semifinals, finals and winner to state matches in the district tournament.
And this year, only three state spots from District 4 are up for grabs.
“We want to take that next step,” Schultz said. “Hopefully, it makes US on day one of the season be more comfortable together. It is improving our technical ability and our time on the field. By the end of the season, we really feel we’re a well-oiled machine.”
