W.F. West lost a couple of things on Wednesday night.
With a 4-0 loss to Ridgefield in a 2A District 4 Semifinal, the Bearcats lost the chance to play for a district championship, and they lost their unbeaten streak, which stood at 18 games going into the matchup.
After the game, W.F. West coach Kevin Schultz could have dwelled on those things, but instead, he opted to shift his focus to what the Bearcats still have in front of them.
“The goal is to get to state,” Schultz said. “That’s been the season goal. We’re not gonna lose that goal today. Now it’s gonna be about responding.”
The Bearcats will have to respond to its first loss of the season, a defeat where Ridgefield dominated possession of the ball and took advantage of a few costly W.F. West mistakes.
Despite the Spudders generating a few chances throughout the first half, the game was deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the final five minutes before the break.
Things quickly changed in the 35th minute, when Ridgefield’s Kendal Yazzolino dribbled through a few defenders up the right side before burying a shot just below the crossbar to put the Spudders on the board. Less than 60 seconds later, Ridgefield’s Layla Gilliam scored on an open shot after a Bearcat slipped to make it 2-0.
In the second half, Ridgefield added on with a pair of goals, both coming on open shots inside the box from Hannah McGory. The first was slotted into the side of the net from the right side of the box, while the second was on an open net after the ball popped free from a struggle for the ball.
“We haven’t made some of those mental mistakes defensively all year,” Schultz said. “We’ll have to clean some of that stuff up over the next couple of days.”
Offensively, W.F. West couldn’t muster a counter, often losing the ball quickly before being able to push the ball upfield.
“Their ability to pressure us when we won the ball and turn the ball back over made us have to defend a lot,” Schultz said. “When you defend a lot of the game, you open yourselves up to more opportunities to make mistakes.”
The loss sends W.F. West (14-1-4) into a winner-to-state elimination game on Saturday against Black Hills, which won an elimination game against Tumwater 3-2 on Wednesday.
The Bearcats and Wolves played twice in the regular season, and W.F. West won both matchups by one.
In the immediate aftermath of W.F. West’s matchup on Wednesday, the outcome of the Tumwater-Black Hills game wasn’t finalized, but he did say that he was expecting a battle either way.
“We’re going to be playing against a team that we’ve played before,” Schultz said. “We’ll be playing somebody that we’re familiar with, and we know it’s going to be a challenging game. It’s always tough to play a team three times.”
As for the next couple of days, Schultz said he’s most looking forward to seeing how his group bounces back.
“We haven’t been in this situation yet,” Schultz said. “That’s the exciting part to me. You get to see how players respond. Ultimately, why we do this is growth for the players. We get to see our character now over the next three days in how we practice, how we prepare, and how we play Saturday.”
