One streak of excellence was guaranteed to continue Tuesday night after the semifinals of the Class 2A District 4 girls soccer tournament.
Another streak is not necessarily over, though.
Columbia River got a goal from Ellie Walker in the 50th minute, leading the Chieftains to a 1-0 victory over Hockinson at Kiggins Bowl.
The Chieftains are going to the state soccer tournament for the sixth consecutive year — the first as a 2A program.
Hockinson, meanwhile, fell into the consolation bracket of the district tournament. The Hawks are looking for two wins in a row to finish third in order to extend their state tournament streak to 11 years.
River has no such pressure anymore. The Chieftains will play Tumwater in the district championship match at 7 p.m. Thursday in Tumwater. Both teams are assured of going to state.
“It’s the level of excellence in our program,” Walker said. “You need to work hard. You will work hard. We work hard for each other because we all have the same goal.”
“The River legacy,” goalkeeper Emma Fisk said. “Just play to our potential every game.”
Walker’s goal was of the highlight variety. She redirected a pass from Katie Lee, knocking the ball over her own head as well as the head of the Hockinson defender. Then Walker outraced the defender, finding herself in a one-on-one situation with the Hockinson goalkeeper for the second time in the match.
Hockinson’s Jenna Talarico made an incredible save the first time.
This time, Walker made sure Talarico had no chance, blasting a shot to the corner.
Walker was honest with her assessment of the play. It was not some skill she perfected.
“I don’t even know. I just knocked it over my head, hoping it would go somewhere good,” she said.
After a moment, she recalled the move.
“It was pretty cool.”
It was reactionary. She had no time to think about it.
“I just have to kick it, make it go in a different direction and see if I can beat the defender.”
Then she finished it with her blast into the net.
Fisk had five saves, the toughest coming late in the first half after a Hockinson corner kick. She jumped and punched the ball out of danger.
“Once I saved that one, I felt like that was my hard save. Once you have that first hard save of the game, you’ve got the rest,” Fisk said. “It gave me the motivation.”
Columbia River lost its first two league matches of the season to Ridgefield and Hockinson. The three teams ended up tied for the 2A Greater St. Helens League title after River finished the season with 10 wins in a row. Now two playoff matches.
“Those three teams. No one is dramatically better than the others,” Walker said. “Sometimes it is just who is luckier. It’s soccer.”
No luck involved in getting to state, though.
River coach Filomon Afenegus has led the Chieftains to state in all five of his seasons.
“Columbia River has a rich tradition of success in girls soccer,” Afenegus said. “I asked them, ‘What will be the legacy of 2016, this group?'”
The Chieftains answered that with a winning streak to keep the state streak alive.
