MONTESANO — The Beavers were able to push past Elma 4-2 here Saturday afternoon thanks in large part to a hat trick by Brieanna Dell and a team-wide fixation on procuring baked goods.
The win qualified the Beavers for the 1A state tournament that will begin next week.
‘The girls worked hard and at the end of the day it was about one thing, we got that bread,” said Tenino coach Kevin Schultz. “That’s our team rally call right now!”
Dell scored her first goal in the fourth minute off an assist from Courtney Dodge. Elma tied the game up six minutes later with a Brooke Sutherby goal but a pair of goals by Dell in the 10th minute gave Tenino an advantage that would last the rest of the game.
Dell’s second goal was assisted by Lara Kershaw and about thirty seconds later she again put the ball in the back of the net, this time thanks to an on-point pass by Grace Vestal. For good measure, though, Dodge lodged a goal of her own with an assist from Olivia Hunter.
“We played more of a counter attack style of soccer today,” explained Schultz. “That led to some early goals for us.”
For the game Tenino was able to score four of their seven shots on goal. On the flip side the Beaver’s keeper, Maria Collins, was able to stop four of the Eagle’s six shots on goal.
After that rapid fire start to the game the pace slowed down a bit and Elma was able to find a bit more of a rhythm. That slight resurgence by the Eagles meant that there were plenty of nerves on the Tenino sideline for the majority of the game. Adding to that pressure was a goal in the 42nd minute by Elma’s Jillian Bieker.
“They made some adjustments. They actually switched goalkeepers and they moved the girl who was in goal to center back and she was able to handle Brienna a little bit better,” noted Schultz.
Schultz added that the game was bogged down a bit by physical play, particularly in the second half, including a total of five yellow cards that were distributed between the two teams.
“The game got a little bit physical and any time there are more whistles and stoppage it can be kind of detrimental to our team,” Schultz said. “I was a little nervous just because of how quickly the goal came in the second half, and then they had a penalty kick and I was really nervous but once Maria (Collins) made the save I wasn’t super nervous because I know we have a lot of good players along the back line.”
The win means that Tenino will play Klahowya on Tuesday, likely in Silverdale. A time and location are set to be confirmed by the WIAA in coming days. Until then the Beavers are letting their hair down and savoring their accomplishments to date.
“It’s amazing. This has been the focus for this group all year long. This group of seniors especially, they’ve improved every year that they’ve been here,” said Schultz. “The goal all year has been to get to state because once you get there anything can happen. Records don’t matter. It's just who gets hot and who plays well.”
