After years of getting to the state tournament, the Hockinson Hawks broke through with a program-defining victory Wednesday.
Aurora Bodenhamer and Makayla Meisner scored the goals, and Baylee Smith and Isabella Koenig shared the goalkeeping duties in Hockinson’s 2-1 victory over Lindbergh in the opening round of the Class 2A girls state soccer tournament.
It was Hockinson’s first win in the state tournament, in this, the Hawks’ seventh consecutive appearance. Until Wednesday, they had lost five of their previous six appearances by one goal.
This year, the Hawks got the one-goal victory.
“Everybody was up off the bench and jumping around. Everyone was super excited,” coach Zach Goldfinch said. “It was definitely a good feeling after being down one-nothing at the half. We regrouped, and all of our seniors took a leadership role.”
Hockinson will travel to Bellingham for its quarterfinal match Saturday against Squalicum. The time will be determined.
Trailing by one, Bodenhamer received a ball at midfield and took it upon herself to tie the match for the Hawks at around the 60th minute.
“She went on her own for a 30-, 35-yard run, cut through some people, and they didn’t have an answer for her,” Goldfinch said.
Sixteen minutes later, the Hawks were in the lead.
Kavita Battan received a pass from midfield and used her speed to go down the sideline. From there, she passed it to Meisner, who slotted it into the net.
“This is a huge win for our program,” Goldfinch said.
Camas 1, Moses Lake 0 — Mika Norrish scored a second-half goal to lift the visiting Papermakers to a win at Moses Lake that earns them a home game on Saturday.
Camas traveled approximately 300 miles on Wednesday to win its first state tournament match at the Class 4A level.
Camas will host Mead of Spokane at Doc Harris Stadium on Saturday. The time is yet to be determined but look for it to be early afternoon because the Camas football game is 6 p.m. that night at the stadium.
After competing as one of the top programs in 3A soccer, Camas is now in the elite eight in its first year as a 4A program.
The Papermakers tied for a 4A Greater St. Helens League title. After Union’s loss Wednesday, Camas is the lone 4A Clark County representative left in the tournament.
