T-Birds stay perfect in EvCo

The Olympian

HOQUIAM - With a 3-0 shutout victory over the Hoquiam Grizzlies on Thursday, the Tumwater Thunderbirds extended their record to 6-0 in the 2A Evergreen Conference and have yet to yield a goal in conference play.

After a scoreless first half, the T-Birds got second-period goals from Lindsay Bert, Kelsey Lenherr and Charlene Hitchcock, who opened the scoring and also assisted Lenherr's score.

"It was a good match," Tumwater coach Lew Kittle said. "Hoquiam tries to pack in the box and make it hard to score - which they did. We got a little impatient, but once we got that first goal, then we got that cluster of three."

With just two shots on goal, the Grizzlies couldn't do much against Tumwater's defense, anchored by Ashley Villm and Megan Herbert.

"They're playing awesome defense," Kittle said. "They're keeping things under control and they're well-organized."

Rochester 6, Stevenson 1

The Stevenson Bulldogs got on the board early with an unassisted goal in the first 10 minutes, but the Rochester Warriors surged to victory and evened their Southwest 1A League record at 2-2.

Bryana Braykovich scored three goals and Erica Munson added two in the win. Sarah Fields had two assists, one each on goals by Braykovich and Munson.

With Rochester nursing a 2-1 lead heading into the second half, the Warriors got their offense clicking and drove home four goals in a 19-minute span.

"The team worked well, definitely in the second half passing the ball around," Rochester coach Jamie Black said. "We took advantage of lots of openings, crossing it into the middle."

Timberline 1, Yelm 0

It took a marathon seven-round penalty kick shootout for the Timberline Blazers to earn the Class 3A Western Cascade Conference victory.

Yelm took the early shootout advantage when the Tornados' keeper made a save, putting them up 2-1 after two rounds. Then Timberline's Marrika Benson made a save in the third round, and the teams got back to even.

Both teams scored in the fourth round, and then Benson made another save in the fifth, but the Blazers' shot at a game-winner sailed over the crossbar.

"Maybe she took a couple steps too many in the run up to the ball," Blazers coach Jeff Peltier said with a chuckle.

Both teams scored in the sixth round, and in the seventh Benson came up with the save again and senior midfielder Nikki Carey buried her try to lift her squad to victory.

Peltier explained his philosophy for coaching during shootouts:

"The best thing you can do, I think, is remain as calm as possible," Peltier said. "I was talking to the girls who were next in line, and I told them, 'You've got to make the keeper make the save. Don't kick around the side, don't kick over the bar.' Evidently they heeded my wonderful wisdom."

North Thurston 3, Clover Park 2 (SO)

The Rams fell behind 0-2 to the Warriors before a late rally to tie and clutch work in penalty kicks lifted North Thurston to its second WCC triumph.

Beth Anne Feero got the Rams on the board in the 55th minute with a penalty kick score and teammate Rachel Zerr netted the game-tying goal at Minute 75 off a Becky Boeckel corner kick.

Both teams scored in the first two rounds of the shootout, then the Rams' Ashley Yates put her team up 3-2 after Clover Park knocked one off the crossbar. Both teams scored in the fourth round and in the fifth, Rams keeper Kodi Wilson made the winning save.

"The girls showed a lot of character to come from behind to tie it up in the last few minutes of the game, just to hang in there," North Thurston coach Dennis Crisp said.

BLACK HILLS 4, ABERDEEN 2

Sophomore Jessica Westby scored the go-ahead goal from 18 yards out late in the second half, breaking a 2-2 tie and helping lift Black Hills to the win.

Black Hills, which had an 11-8 edge on shots-on-goal, improved to 5-2-1 overall and 5-1 in the Evergreen Conference.

"Every goal that was scored was a great goal," Black Hills coach Lisa Summers said. "Jessica beat a couple of players, cut it back and struck it hard from 18 yards out. It was a great goal."

Kathleen McGee scored off an assist from Westby from 18 yards out for an insurance goal with 10 minutes left.

Haley Bender scored 10 minutes into the game to give Black Hills a 1-0 lead. The score was tied 1-1 at halftime.

Five minutes into the second half, Westby scored off a corner kick from Tareyn Brougham for a 2-1 lead.

Capital 1, Shelton 0

In a battle between the WCC's top squads, a goal in the third minute determined everything.

Jena Russell took a pass from Hannah Scoles past Shelton keeper Ali Lund to give the Cougars the victory.

"The second goal didn't seem like it was going to come," Capital coach Devin Proctor said. "You've got to play defense against Shelton."

And keeper Libby Stone and the Cougars defense did just that. Shelton was limited to six shots for the game and Stone collected four saves.

"To come out and shut them out is a big accomplishment," Proctor said. "Everyone was committed to defense and that got the win."

Chehalis 5, River Ridge 4

Despite a valiant effort from Sarah Tallman, the River Ridge Hawks fell one goal short of their first EvCo win this season.

Kiersten Abbott scored a hat trick and kept the pulse going for the Bearcats offense. Abbott scored the game's first goal, then retaliated after a Hawks score to give Chehalis its second lead, then scored what seemed to be a game-clincher in the 51st minute for a 4-2 lead.

Then River Ridge charged back. Tallman scored her second goal to pull within one and then fed a pass to Jessica Eken to tie the game.

Leesha King scored the game-winner for Chehalis.

"Tallman had a phenomenal game," Chehalis coach Tino Sanchez said. "She's a force to be reckoned with. I have all the respect for that girl, she's the workhorse.

"Our team sped it up, the girls did well," Sanchez added. "They didn't quit."

Volleyball
Black Hills 3, Centralia 0

The Black Hills Wolves bounced back from a loss to Tumwater by defeating the Centralia Tigers on the road.

"I think this week has been all about taking significant strides for us," said Black Hills coach Kara Peterson, whose team won 25-13, 25-20 and 25-16. "We passed really well Tuesday night, and we continued to do that."

Black Hills improved to 5-1 in the Evergreen Conference, while Centralia dropped to 4-2.

Christine Hilt led Black Hills with nine kills and was 13-for-14 serving, including an ace.

TUMWATER 3, CHEHALIS 0

Alex Sele had seven kills and Emily Sampson had 17 assists, leading Tumwater to a three-game sweep, 25-7, 25-14 and 25-12.

"Alex Sele did a great job for us," Tumwater coach Tana Croft said. "We were real strong at the net. Leah Flynn and Erin Lindstrom put in a big spark for us."

Tumwater, which improved to 6-0 for the season, had 11 aces. Karlie Marquette had five aces and went 15-for-16 serving.

NORTH THURSTON 3, YELM 1

After North Thurston dropped the first game, Nicole Nelson served three straight aces to help the Rams to regroup and win three straight games.

North Thurston jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the second game after losing the opener 25-17.

"It took us a game to get used to their gym," North Thurston coach Micah McBride said. "We missed about eight serves and it took a while to get our bearings. Nicole got us going in the second game and we never looked back."

At the season's halfway point, North Thurston improved to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the WCC.

RIVER RIDGE 3, ABERDEEN 0

Sophie Russell and Courtney Blume had seven kills each and Rosie Gilbert had seven digs, leading River Ridge to a sweep.

River Ridge, which improved to 5-2 overall and 5-2 in the Evergreen Conference, won 26-24, 25-20 and 25-12.

"We came a long way," River Ridge coach Robert Higashi said. "I saw a lot of improvement. Everyone is playing better together. Playing better as a team and they're having fun."

Shelton 3, Clover Park 0

Michelle Davis had seven kills and a trio of Highclimbers - Jessica Scovell, Briana McKinley and Marissa Hill - each put away six in Shelton's 25-19, 26-24, 25-14 win over Clover Park in the WCC.

Hill also went 17-for-17 serving and had three aces. Teammate Michelle Christy was 8-for-8 with an ace at the service stripe.

Cross country
PAINE, TAYLOR FINISH FIRST

Shelton's Dan Paine finished nearly a minute ahead of the field in the boys race and Ashley Taylor of Yelm outdueled Timberline's Rachel Estep in the girls race at a multi-team meat held at Saint Martin's University and hosted by Timberline.

Paine covered the 2.47-mile course in 12 minutes, 49 seconds and Taylor finished at 16:01, ahead of Estep at 16:19.

Girls swimming
OLYMPIA 110, MOUNT TAHOMA 55

Winning nine of the 11 events, Olympia dominated the Narrows League dual meet.

Olympia got off to a fast start by sweeping the top three spots of the 200-yard medley relay, the first event of the meet.

Olympia's Clara Heffernan, Bridget Braley, Katherin Culhane, Marissa Maurer, Allison Byrnes and Brynn Sebring all won their races.

N. THURSTON 100, LAKES 80

Kira Skinner won two individual races and swam the anchor leg on two winning relays, helping North Thurston beat Lakes.

Skinner, a senior and a returning state qualifier, won the 50-yard freestyle in 26.4 and the 100 freestyle in 56.7.

Sophomore Madelynn Brickey won the 200 freestyle in 2:16, winning by six seconds.

Boys golf
Timberline 204, Lakes 205

Cameron Peck shot a 1-under-par 35 at Oakbrook Golf & Country Club to slip the Blazers past a Lakes team that could not match his performance.

John Jordan shot a 3-over 39 to help give Timberline the narrow WCC win.

"It's a course a lot of our kids hadn't seen before," Timberline coach Don Backman said. "It was a pretty solid effort. That's one of the things you teach is that you might be that one kid whose stroke mattered. Never give up."

The resilient Timberline squad didn't, and the Blazers improved to 3-0 in the WCC and 7-1 overall. Lakes fell to 2-1 in league play.