A goal seconds before halftime and two more early in the second half had the Columbia River girls soccer team cruising on Wednesday at Kiggins Bowl.
But state playoff wins don’t come without a challenge. Bishop Blanchet of Seattle scored twice in the final 17 minutes, making the Chieftains and their fans sweat a bit despite frigid weather before Columbia River secured its spot in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
The 3-2 win means the Chieftains (15-2-2) will host Holy Names of Seattle at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Kiggins Bowl.
Marion Lilly and Ellie Walker each had a goal and an assist in the win over the Braves.
Lilly’s goal opened the scoring just seconds before halftime. Taylor Hallquist made a nice move with the ball to elude a defender on the left side of the penalty area. As the Braves defense scrambled to cut off her path to goal, she sent the ball across the box to a wide-open Lilly who had an empty net.
Eight minutes after halftime, Lilly set up Walker for the second River goal. Then Walker turned into the set-up person with a pass that Megan Bloom finished for a 3-0 lead that seemed comfortable.
Columbia River coach Filomon Afenegus said his team executed well in the second half.
“We wanted to press their back line and see if we could force turnovers,” he said. “Our midfielders did a good job of finding the forwards and our forwards did a good job of making different runs.”
It became a little less comfortable with 17 minutes remaining, when a corner kick from Bishop Blanchet’s Margaret Steiner found its way into the goal.
“You could tell that goal gave them a little life,” Afenegus said.
The desperate Braves kept pushing forward as time ticked away, and scored a second goal with just over three minutes on the clock. Taylor Chambers broke through the Chieftain defense for that goal, making the next five minutes (including stoppage time) a bit dicey for the home team.
River advances to the state quarterfinals for the fifth time in program history.
South Kitsap 3, Union 1 — South Kitsap of Port Orchard scored three second-half goals on Wednesday on its way to a 3-1 win over visiting Union in the first round of the Class 4A girls soccer state tournament.
Alexa Bowmer scored for Union with an assist from Alex Sanders to pull the Titans within 2-1. But Union was unable to extend its season. The match played at Silverdale Stadium was scoreless at halftime.
Seattle Academy 9, La Center 2 — The Wildcats lost in the first round of the Class 1A girls soccer state tournament. Katlyn Bigley and Mackenzie Haverlack scored goals for La Center, both on assists from Kate Burgess.
