The Tumwater girls soccer team mowed through this past regular season, and All-Area MVP Kayla Pope was a big reason why.
Fans and opponents of Tumwater would often see Pope all over the field, as the outside back often played up and joined the attack, where she scored 15 goals and tallied six assists en route to winning the EvCo MVP award as a sophomore.
Pope was a key unit in an offensive juggernaut, as the T-Birds scored more than five goals per game during an 15-0-1 regular season.
“It’s just having trust in the people with the ball,” Pope said. “Anywhere you played it, you knew that we were gonna make something happen out of it because of the kids on the team and how connected we are as a team.”
One of their 15 regular season wins came at Ridgefield, the eventual 2A champions, and Pope came away with the lone goal on a penalty kick in the first half.
“That was our big win of the season,” Pope said. “We felt so good. We all played amazing that game and we pulled out the win … it was such a triumph for us.”
Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, they had less success in the postseason, as they lost two games in their district tournament and finished one win shy of a state tournament berth.
While the season came to an early end, Pope is proud of the season that they put together.
“It was definitely a year where we all learned from each other,” Pope said. “I think it’s definitely going to be something to reflect on and make sure that we don’t end up in the same position. Next year, that extra motivation will put us over the top.”
The T-Birds will have several holes to fill when they take the pitch next fall, as they graduate seven seniors. But Pope is confident in herself and her returning teammates that they will be able to take the reigns as leaders moving forward.
“I know for a fact that in the coming years, there’s gonna be a lot of new faces,” Pope said. “People in the sophomore class are stepping up … Next season, the connection that we made this year will help.
“That’s the overall goal, is to always be improving and getting better.”
The Chronicle’s All-Area Girls Soccer Team
Goalkeepers
Taylen Evander, Napavine
Napavine’s No. 1 goalkeeper finished the season with 72 saves in 19 games, allowing just over a goal per match, and earned first-team all-C2BL honors.
Staysha Fluetsch, W.F. West
The 2A EvCo Goalkeeper of the year posted 72 saves and nine shutouts in her seniors season, six of which came by the slimmest of 1-0 scorelines.
Defenders
Kendra Cutlip, Tenino
The first of Tenino’s 1A Evergreen first-teamers, the senior defender keystoned the Beavers’ back line, which finished the season with six shutouts.
Isabelle Gruginski, Centralia
Centralia’s Gruginski at the back helped pace the Tigers’ defense all fall long, and ended her career in orange and black with a return trip to the district tournament.
Maya Kunkel, Napavine
A first-team all-C2BL selection. Kunkel was the keystone of a defense that at one point posted seven shutouts in a row, and also served as a set-piece specialist with her long bombs of throw-ins.
Violet Ratkie, W.F. West
As a sophomore, Ratkie anchored a W.F. West back line that only gave up two goals to league opponents not named Tumwater, and took home first-team all-EvCo honors for her efforts.
Lilly Wellander, Adna
The defender only finished with three goals on the season, but scored arguably the most important all year, converting a penalty kick in stoppage time against Napavine in the 2B district third-place match to send Adna to the state tournament.
Midfielders
Jules Auman, Onalaska
One of four seniors on the Onalaska roster this season, Auman scored 10 goals and added three assists to earn first-team all-league honors, and helped power Onalaska to a runner-up finish at Districts and a State appearance.
Anahi Corona, Centralia
Corona bagged two goals and two assists for Centralia in a season that got her on the 2A EvCo first team, and helped lead the Tigers back to the district tournament in her senior season.
Kaiyah Sandridge, Onalaska
Taking over as the lead Sandridge at Onalaska, the sophomore finished the season with a team-high 16 goals and five assists.
Forwards
Olivia Gruginski, Centralia
Centralia’s Gruginski up top earned first-team all-league honors in the 2A EvCo after leading the Tigers with nine goals and five assists.
Hayden Kaut, Napavine
Napavine’s leading scorer made the all-C2BL first team after posting 13 goals and three assists as a sophomore.
Callie Mickelson, Tenino
Mickelson began her freshman season with nine goals in four matches, and proceeded to log 18 goals on the year, with three assists to go along with them.
Emalyn Shaffer, Tumwater
The 2A EvCo Offensive Player of the Year led the area in scoring by a wide margin, finishing with 27 goals in 17 games.
Lydia Tobin, Adna
Tobin posted 17 goals as a junior to lead all of Lewis County, and earned second-team all-C2BL honors.
