For the W.F. West High School girls soccer team, they were seeing double.
Two goals on Thursday night. Clinching second place in the Evergreen Conference and the second seed in the Class 2A District 4 tournament.
A two-game sweep over Centralia.
All powered by two unsung heroes that haven’t shown up much on the stat sheet that came up in the biggest moments in one of the biggest rivalry games of the fall season.
Kenley Fragner scored her first career varsity goal and backup goalkeeper Alabama Ropka made a pair of key saves to preserve the shutout in the Bearcats’ 2-0 triumph over the Tigers to keep The Chronicle Cup trophy for at least the fifth consecutive season.
“The main thing we do is have fun playing with each other,” Fragner said. “This is honestly such a fun group of girls.”
It marks the third consecutive season W.F. West (11-2-1, 7-2 EvCo) will be a top-two seed for districts and the opponent is still to be determined. Outside of Columbia River, an unbeaten squad in the Greater St. Helens league, four teams are separated by two games with two to go.
Having both goals ticked at home provided quite the smile on head coach Kevin Schultz’s face afterwards.
“I have enjoyed watching their successes this year because they’ve earned it,” he said. “Sometimes you have to be willing to step up in pressure situations. Beating your rival is important to the players.”
Still, nothing topped the jubilation of Fragner’s goal from the coaches and her teammates.
It came off one of the Bearcats’ four corner kicks in the opening 40 minutes that was momentarily cleared only for Fragner to hit a left-footed rocket from 30-plus yards out that sailed over the head of Centralia’s Nena Venegas-Minor in the 13th minute.
Fragner’s jaw dropped and she immediately was swarmed. That was the first varsity goal for the right-footed junior defender.
“I was trying to put it on frame,” Fragner stated. “It was pretty cool; that was a new one for me. My teammates are such good people. It was awesome.”
“I was pumped,” Schultz said. “She hit it really well and was almost unbelievable to see. Caught everyone a little off-guard.”
Izzy Teeter added an insurance goal in the second half in the 45th minute, capping the opening five minutes that featured a penalty kick and the continued trend of aggressive soccer after the 10-minute intermission.
Once again, W.F. West failed to convert numerous chances in the first half despite six total shots and five on frame.
“Our group is focused in the halftime talk, they take the stuff we talk about and they apply it right away," Schultz said. “That’s tough for high school players.”
Yet nothing was as back-breaking as the two in-front-of-the-goal opportunities for Centralia (6-9, 4-5), one in each half.
It left Luis Magana frustrated afterwards.
“It is always something I’ve always preached is opportunities missed are chances to score on us,” the Tigers head coach said. “We should have shot a little earlier. We were in this game, it wasn’t like they out-possessed us or complete domination.”
The final 10-to-15 minutes allowed for Centralia to bring numbers forward and attempt to whittle the deficit in half. Ropka never wavered and posted her second straight shutout in net.
“I am beyond proud of her,” Fragner said. “We always try to make life on the goalie a little easier. It is one of our big focuses.”
Centralia is locked into the four seed for districts and will try to clear the pigtail game hurdle that has stopped its season for the last three years. Magana appreciates the consistency his program has shown to play in the playoffs, but the next step has been the bug-a-boo.
“We (know) it is going to be difficult,” Magana said. “Our season is not over. We wish we could directly go into the double elimination (stage).”
With only three teams from District 4 qualifying for the state tournament, it makes the path for the EvCo more difficult. Now with the chance to have the most regular season victories if W.F. West upends Shelton on Tuesday in Schultz’s tenure, there is a new-found confidence.
He’s repeatedly called this group “special” and is banking on their communication, cohesiveness and the talent to put the program in a spot it hasn’t been to in 13 years.
“The season can be a grind and the last couple of years, we’ve been worn out,” Schultz said. “They’re a little fresher this year. That’s going to pay dividends and they’re focused on the goal.
“We’re gonna go give it our best shot.”
