TUMWATER — Coming off of back-to-back losses to open the season, the Tumwater boys soccer team didn’t have an easy time of it across town, but got into the win column with a tight 1-0 victory over rivals Black Hills.
The Thunderbirds got their goal early, with senior Pierce Yates sending in a free kick from around 30 yards out into a dangerous spot in the area, and junior Dylan Stevens running in to the resulting scrum to hammer it home.
Tumwater had the bulk of the chances the rest of the way, but couldn’t quite link up on any of them, with a couple of long shots fizzing just wide and multiple runs getting called off for close offsides whistles.
“This is kind of the story of us,” Tumwater coach Brett Bartlett said. “We seem to be creating tons of chances, and haven’t clicked on finishing them yet. But we think it will come. As a group, we’re about half new guys on varsity, and we’re young, just with our understanding of how to play together. We’ll get there.”
No matter how it came, the result was a welcome one for the defending 2A EvCo champs, who were shut out in their opener against Archbishop Murphy before dropping their first league matchup to Centralia on Tuesday.
“We’ve just got to keep growing,” Bartlett said. “If every contest, we’re playing better, the results will come. We’ve got kids who can play, and they do good work.”
The Thunderbirds will bounce out of league play for the weekend, going to Lacey to face 3A Timberline on Saturday. Black Hills will return to action next Monday, at Aberdeen.
