Tumwater seniors Kayla Pope and Kennedy Riedl were seemingly all over the field on Thursday in Centralia, and together, they combined for all five of Tumwater’s goals in the T-Birds 5-0 win over the Tigers.
“I like their leadership and their willingness to be goal dangerous,” Tumwater coach Abbey Bergquist said. “Kayla has obviously done a lot for this program the past few years, and Kennedy is also stepping up this year, which is really exciting to see.”
The win extends Tumwater’s EvCo winning streak, which started at the beginning of the 2018 season, and keeps them atop the EvCo standings at the halfway point of the league season.
Riedl got the scoring started in the 20th minute, when a shot from just outside the box deflected off of a Centralia defender and into the net. Four minutes later, Pope added her first of the night, and just before the halftime whistle, Riedl made it 3-0.
On both the second and third goals, Pope and Riedl were able to time their runs perfectly to get behind the Centralia back line and get open shots on net.
Pope added a penalty kick and a free kick in the second half to finish off the hat trick, and the Tumwater back line held firm for the shut out despite a late Centralia push.
“Our defense is something that we’ve been working really hard on,” Bergquist said. “I’m really proud of them. They’re tough back there, and you can’t teach that … We have a lot of people across the board that are stepping up.”
The late Tiger push had Centralia coach Luis Magana excited despite the final scoreline, saying that he was proud to see his team continue to battle.
“The message was that we have to keep fighting no matter what,” Magana said. “No matter if we’re down, all I want to see is effort. I want these girls to look each other in the eye, and say ‘you know what, I tried everything I could tonight.’”
The Tigers (4-7, 2-3 2A EvCo) have now lost three games in a row, and they have all come against teams above them in the standings (Tumwater, W.F. West, and Black Hills).
Centralia will get a second crack at all three of those teams in the coming weeks, but first, they’ll hit the road next week to face Aberdeen and Shelton.
“I’m hoping we’re able to learn all this, see what it is to be a team, and be united,” Magana said. “We knew this week was gonna be hard. I’m hoping we’re able to turn the page and get a couple of road wins.”
The T-Birds (6-3-1, 5-0 2A EvCo) will host Aberdeen and head to W.F. West next week, and if they can win both of those matchups, it would all but ensure another EvCo title.
“Winning is always the goal,” Bergquist said. “But we’re not done yet. We’ve still got business to take care of. It’s a short season for sure, but we're hoping that our season extends into November. This is just the beginning for us … I’m really excited to see how this team continues to grow.”
