Columbia River’s Leo Thom sent a ball to the box as the clock was running down, trying to make something happen.
The ball made a few caroms and then found its way to fellow senior Lance Phillips.
Phillips positioned himself behind the ball and unleashed a bicycle kick for a River goal.
That was the last goal that Columbia River’s senior class will have to its credit as their season came to an end on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to Shorecrest of Shoreline at Kiggins Bowl in the Class 3A boys soccer state tournament.
In the final moments before the goal that got them on the board, Thom kept imploring the team from the back line to stick with it and “keep fighting.”
“The whole team has been a family the whole season and we fight hard for each other,” said Thom who was also one of three co-captains for River. “There’s no reason just because it’s our last couple of minutes that we should stop working hard.”
The goal helped lift spirits, but it didn’t do much to ease the sting of being eliminated from the state tournament or the end of many careers.
Player after player came ever so slowly out of the locker room at Kiggins Bowl, many wearing their emotions on their sleeve with tears in their eyes.
“You don’t realize how bad it’s going to hurt until you’re at your last game,” said senior River defender and co-captain Bryan McCarthy, who was overcome by the emotion of the moment.
“Of course it stings right off the bat,” said midfielder and co-captain Lennox Mandel. “It’s my last organized soccer game. I’m not going to play organized soccer for the rest of my life competitively like this. I’m not going to be able to play with my best buds from high school.”
So, too, did the Chieftains reminisce in the locker room.
For River, the season was about bouncing back. They lost a host of seniors and they also lost their first nine, all of which were non-league.
They went on to lose only once in league play and won the 3A Greater St. Helens League title outright for the first time in 15 years.
