After riding in a bus for three hours just to get to the field, the Enumclaw Hornets stung the visiting Camas girls soccer team with a goal in three minutes.
The numbing feeling in their veins proved to make the Papermakers angry. It only took them five minutes to find antidote. Once Anyssa DeVera delivered a through ball and Amanda Shi fired it into the net, the game was tied.
Camas broke the Hornet’s nest one more time in the 48th minute. Savanna Joyce tackled the ball away from a defender and passed it to Rachel Wildeson as she was cutting through the honeycomb. Wildeson slotted the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the Papermakers a 2-1 victory.
“They were a big, good team,” said Camas head coach Roland Minder. “I praised our players for their mental toughness on a come-from-behind win.”
Camas has another obstacle to tackle Thursday. The Papermakers are going to play defending 3A state champion Columbia River at Kiggins Bowl, in downtown Vancouver. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Although this is not a championship game, and the result has no impact on the league standings, the Papermakers will be playing for pride against their non-league rivals.
“Non-league, while we play to win, is there to figure things out for the games that count,” Minder said. “While getting a good result is pleasing, the most important thing in these games is learning from them.”
Camas is building team chemistry and character through these non-league challenges. On Sept. 17, the Papermakers shut down Prairie 3-0. It was the first game under the lights for the Falcons on their new turf field.
Prairie accidently knocked the ball its own net during the first half, but Camas was not satisfied. DeVera saved a misdirected free kick from going out of bounds.
“If you work to get the ball up there, somebody is going to put it in,” DeVera said.
That somebody was Mika Norrish. She slid across the new playing surface and pocketed the ball into the net for goal.
“[DeVera] was hustling all over the field. She was the MVP of the match,” Norrish said. “Our intensity and determination went up after that goal and we were able to take control of the game.”
The Papermakers added one more goal for good measure. Fiona Samodurov threaded the ball through the needle and Shi tied the knot and set it into the back of the net.
“Even though this was a preseason game, we have to show everyone what we’re made of and work our way back up the ladder,” Norrish said. “All of this is getting us ready for season.”
