Scorers help Tornados reach their potential

It was easy for Mark Tate to see the potential early on.

Just days into the season, the Yelm boys soccer coach saw what could be a quality team. But a possible berth into the Class 3A state playoffs might've seemed a bit far-fetched then.

"I thought we would be competitive," Tate said. "Our goal is to go to the district tournament every year."

At 9-6-1 overall and 9-3 in the Class 3A Western Cascade Conference, Yelm has a winning season for just the second time.

It also marks its second trip to the district tournament - the first was 2004, when the Tornados were the league's No. 3 seed.

The Tornados, this season's WCC's No. 2 seed, will play Sumner (6-4-7) at 3 p.m. Saturday at South Sound Stadium in hope of making more history - a first-ever trip to the state tournament.

Capital, which won the WCC title for the second straight season and earned the league's No. 1 seed, will play White River at 11 a.m. Saturday at South Sound Stadium.

"It's been great," Tate said. "Not only are they talented soccer players, but they're great kids, too. It's been a fun season and really rewarding."

When Tate arrived on the scene six years ago, the program was in disarray. There were not enough uniforms and not enough equipment. The first thing he did was order new uniforms and new soccer balls. But now, there is life in the Yelm boys soccer program. Nonetheless, it's been a project in the making for Tate.

"This program has been built from the ground up, and it's exciting to see," Tate said.

The offensive-minded Tornados have scored 49 goals while giving up 24. Of those 49 goals, 24 have come from sophomore forward Miguel Gonzalez.

In the past two games, Gonzalez has scored six goals and tallied two assists. Gonzalez has set nearly every school scoring record, including goals in a season, during his first two years. Before Gonzalez's arrival, the record for goals in a season was nine.

Not many teams can say they have that type of goal-scorer.

"He's a phenomenal soccer player," Tate said. "He can possess the ball as well as anyone in the league. He has great foot skills and has a goal-scoring mentality. That's hard to find in kids. He wants to be a goal-scorer."