The Centralia girls soccer team’s 2A Evergreen Conference opener was a big ask, and Tumwater lived up to the hype of the defending league champs in a 6-0 win at Tiger Stadium.
“Tumwater’s a really good team, really well put-together, they have two really good coaches I’m friends with; they’ve been working together for a long time, building a great program,” Centralia coach Noel Vasquez said.
Vasquez said the Tigers came out wanting to slow the game down with possession and hold the Thunderbirds off as long as they could, but Tumwater would only be denied so long. Sophomore Lucy Bergford broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, and after a short break, proceeded to blow the match open with two more goals in the span of three minutes in the 23rd and 25th.
That would be all the scoring going into halftime, but the Thunderbirds weren’t any quieter in the second half. Scoring once again in a burst, Sophie Boatright put one home in the 51st minute, and practically right off the kickoff, Cierra Larson made it 5-0 with a goal of her own.
Larson added the sixth on a free kick in the 73rd minutes.
“They’re just faster and a little bit stronger and a lot more experienced,” Vasquez said.
Centralia goalkeeper Liliana Babka kept things in control as much as she could, finishing with 12 saves. For their part, the Tigers put three shots on frame.
Centralia (0-4-0) will head to Rochester for its first league match on the road on Thursday, while Tumwater (2-0-1) will face Black Hills.
