The question posed by Seton Catholic coach Antonio Buckley, as the Cougars celebrated their 5-0 home win to open the Class 1A girls soccer playoffs, received a unanimous answer by players.
Did they believe, at the start of the season, they’d be among the final eight teams left in the 1A state tournament field after Wednesday’s first-round shutout of Kiona-Benton?
“Definitely not,” Hailey Herboth said.
Said CJ Moore: “Honestly, no. Especially from last year, we got pretty far, but lost in the first round of state … I feel like winning all these games has really built up our confidence.”
And winning is all the Cougars (20-0-0) have done. They keep increasing their own school record for single-season victories, as they look ahead to Saturday’s quarterfinal against The Bush School out of Seattle. Bush topped Naches Valley, 4-1, in its opening-round match.
As the playoffs continue, the confidence continues to rise.
“The more difficult it gets,” Herboth said, “the more we push ourselves.”
Thursday was just another notch in a season full of firsts for Seton: an outright Trico League crown, district title and now the program’s first state win in four appearances going back to 2016.
In Wednesday’s rainy and blustery match, freshman Lilah Chase scored two goals and Moore and Herboth registered two assists and a goal apiece. It was the Moore-to-Herboth to open the second half scoring in the 44th minute, then Herboth-to-Moore for their final goal that extended the lead to 5-0 in the 56th minute.
Seton dominated possession for much of the game and kept Kiona-Benton’s back line busy. Keeper Olivia Clayton made 18 saves.
A key factor in the win, Moore said, came down to communication and connection on the field. Seton led 2-0 at halftime.
“I feel like we’ve built a really great bond over these past 20 games,” she said, and playing with one another and passing and making those through-balls is what really helped us.”
The defense posted its 13th shutout and third this postseason. The scoring kicked off in the sixth minute when Herboth’s assist off a corner, headed in by GG Lougen, got the Cougars on the scoreboard early. That’s key for the offense and defense, Herboth said, since early goals help set the tone for the match.
“Our confidence rises,” she said, “and we start working as a team better.”
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SETON CATHOLIC 5, KIONA-BENTON 0
Seton Catholic
Goals (assists) — GG Lougen (Hailey Herboth), Lilah Chase (Kaia Lauder), Herboth (CJ Moore), Chase (Moore), Moore (Herboth)
Goalkeeper saves — Hailey Hammerstrom, 2
