The Seton Catholic girls soccer team is going to state for the first time since 2015.
And the Cougars did by doing something else they haven’t done all year — beat La Center.
Freshmen Hailey Herboth and Camryn Moore scored goals, as did senior Anna Mooney, as the Cougars beat La Center 4-1 in the 1A district third-place match Saturday at King’s Way Christian High School.
“I think it was just the fire in us,” Mooney said about the difference in the Cougars’ on Saturday. “We knew this was a loser-out game, and we needed to come and finish on those opportunities we had that we didn’t finish in the past. We had that intensity in us that we didn’t have before, and I think that was a factor.”
Seton Catholic got on the board first when Herboth tapped in a deflection in the 21st minute.
“(Jessica Barrett) crossed it me, then somebody else got contact on it, and I put it to the corner,” Herboth said.
“That was a slow roller,” Mooney added. “It was. It was a slow roller, but it went in.”
Shaela Bradley got La Center even in the 33rd minute when she took a through ball and worked around the Seton keeper for the goal.
But that would be the Wildcats’ lone goal after La Center tallied nine goals on Seton in two previous meetings.
“We had a better sense of their most dangerous player,” Mooney said of Bradley. “And we had several layers on her because we needed to help each other and be covering in that way.”
When Keira Williams was taken down in the box in the 44th minute, Mooney converted the penalty kick for a 2-1 lead.
In the 55th minute, Herboth hit a corner kick that was headed in by a La Center defender for an own goal. Herboth fed Moore with another corner in the 63rd minute, and Moore punched it home to seal the win.
While La Center’s previously unbeaten season ended with back-to-back losses, Seton will be heading to the 1A state tournament for the first time with a first-round match on Tuesday or Wednesday. The Cougars will learn their opponent when seedings are announced Sunday.
“It feels really good, especially with this program never doing it (since 2015),” said Mooney, who transferred to Seton for her senior year after helping Camas to the 4A state title last season. “It feels really good to be part of history in that way.”
SETON CATHOLIC 4, LA CENTER 1
Seton Catholic
Goals (assists) – Hailey Herboth (Jessica Barrett); Anna Mooney, PK; own goal; Camryn Moore (Herboth).
La Center
Goal – Shaela Bradley.
Halftime — Tied 1-1.
