District soccer preview: Tumwater piecing together wins amidst injuries

It’s been one of those “weird” seasons, Tumwater High School’s third-year boys soccer coach Brett Bartlett says.

But, somehow, through a flurry of injuries and countless line-up combinations, the T-Birds are in position to earn their first Class 2A state tournament berth since 2012, when they took fourth.

“It was always, ‘We’re going to be competitive every day in practice,’ ” Bartlett said. “Our mentality is going to be, ‘Who’s next? Who’s going to be the next guy to step in there and do the job.’ ”

For each job on the field, plenty of different athletes have answered the call. Bartlett said about 26 players have logged varsity time this season. And the roster is pretty evenly spread between the four age groups — from freshmen to seniors.

“When we put somebody else in, it changes the game the opponent has to play,” Bartlett said, “which has allowed us to dictate what’s going on on the field.”

So, when the temperature of the AstroTurf at Tumwater District Stadium was pushing 100 degrees on Saturday during Tumwater’s first-round 2A Southwest District 4 tournament game against Woodland, the T-Birds made the most effective adjustments.

“We actually played pretty well,” Bartlett said. “We had a deeper bench than they did, and heat took a toll on both teams. Nobody could maintain any semblance of flow. There was no rhythm to it. It was herky jerky — kids were tired and wilting.”

Players put their feet in bags of ice on the sideline to cool off, but it was Tumwater that had the resources to rotate enough players in to give others a rest.

The T-Birds (12-5) won the contest, 2-1. They play R.A. Long (12-4-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at TDS. The winner advances to Thursday’s district-championship game.

Tumwater has won five of its last six and may return senior defender Dane Brizzolara to its lineup more regularly as the playoffs continue. Brizzolara was a first-team selection on The Olympian’s All-Area team last year, and is the reigning 2A EvCo defensive MVP. He has missed the bulk of the season with a collarbone injury, though he played 30 minutes in Saturday’s first-round win.

Bartlett said he is on a day-to-day, game-by-game basis.

“From the time Dane’s gone down, he was always the example kid for these guys,” Bartlett said. “He’s got this great mentality — if he gets knocked off the ball or knocked on the ground he gets back up immediately. He’s right back in it for his team, and he’s always been that way.”

His teammates seem to be that way for him this season.

“Everybody wants to watch him as well as be his teammate,” Bartlett said. “When he went down, the guys, every day, say, ‘Play like Dane. How would Dane want to play?’”

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "District soccer preview: Tumwater piecing together wins amidst injuries."