ONALASKA — When Onalaska eighth grader Greta Oien scored the first goal of the chilly Wednesday night contest against Toledo in the 36th minute, the Loggers went into halftime with bundles of energy.
In fact, the Loggers coaches huddled their players into the corner of the track opposite Toledo’s sideline and loudly informed them that they had scored the first goal on the Riverhawks in Central 2B League play this season. Onalaska cheered audibly.
The Riverhawks, who were sitting on the bench listening to the whole episode, took that personally.
Freshman Xtyn Norberg and junior Peyton Holter instantly hopped off the bench and yelled for a team huddle. Their message was clear: play with energy, play with heart and play to win a league title — something the program hadn’t done in approximately 20 years, the coaching staff estimates. The Riverhawks were riled up as they took the pitch for the second half, although they hadn’t even been told that a tie would result in a league title. They were dialed in on nothing but a win.
“It really showed us that we could do better and that they shouldn’t be screaming over one goal. It wasn’t that big of a deal to us,” junior Kailea Lairson said of Onalaska’s halftime celebration. “It pushed us to get better and finish the game.”
What followed over the final 40 minutes was a 180-degree flip from the opening 40 minutes in every facet. Onalaska’s midfielders struggled to string passes together due to Toledo’s hounding defense.
The equalizer came from the right foot of Lairson, who drilled a free kick from about 15 yards to knot the score in the 59th minute. Toledo opted to deploy its “double-wall” play that is either run for Lairson or Onica Chase, but the two juniors didn’t want to decide who lined up for the game-tying kick. The decision came down to head coach Horst Malunat, who all but flipped a coin to decide whose responsibility it would be.
“Luckily, I said Kai and she scored. It worked out. I seem like the master coach because I picked the right person,” Malunat joked.
As the match grew closer to conclusion, the Loggers could hardly bring the ball out of their own attacking third as Toledo intercepted numerous goal kicks. Onalaska only recorded one shot in the second half after five in the first.
When the final whistle blew, the Riverhawks walked off the sideline with a neutral attitude — happy they didn’t lose but unsatisfied with the draw. Malunat met them before they got to the sideline and gave them the surprising news that they had clinched their first league championship since they were competing as Toledo-Winlock United at the 1A level in 2005.
“It means a lot. I really wanted to do this for our seniors. We did it for them,” Lairson said.
“Under pressure, you can either burst pipes or create diamonds. In that first half, we burst a lot of pipes,” Malunat added. “And then in the second half, we were creating diamonds.”
The Toledo girls soccer program split from Winlock in 2013 but hadn’t won a league title until Wednesday night. Despite two ties with Onalaska and Napavine, the Riverhawks (10-3-3, 7-0-2) didn’t lose a league match all season.
Onalaska (8-7, 7-1 C2BL) also had a chance to clinch the league championship with a win Wednesday. Instead, the Loggers will most likely finish third behind Napavine as the Tigers beat the Loggers on Oct. 22.
“League play ties are OK, but we needed to win. But we’ve come a long way since the beginning of the year,” Onalaska head coach Christopher Van Clifford said. “We’re ready to roll through districts and see what happens.”
Toledo earns the top seed in the District 4 2B tournament and will face the winner of Ocosta vs. Adna in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 6 at Tenino High School for a shot at its second straight trip to the district title game. That run came after a two-year stretch where the Riverhawks won just nine combined matches.
“It was all there. It’s kind of like a diamond in the rough. You just polish it a little bit and you reveal to the kids the confidence that they need and you show them in the reflection in the mirror that, ‘Hey, you guys can do this,’” Malunat said. “They have to believe in themselves because it was always there.”
Onalaska will most likely take the third seed in districts and will host Raymond-South Bend in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in Onalaska. If the Loggers win that match, they would face Napavine in the semifinals.
