TUMWATER — A quick pair of Hockinson goals in the first half put Tumwater behind the eight ball early, and the T-Birds never recovered in a 3-0 loss in a 2A District 4 Semifinal on Tuesday night.
It’s the second straight year that the Thunderbirds have fallen in the district semis, but with one fewer state spot from District 4 this fall, they’ll need to win two games in a row to get the third and final state bid.
Hockinson pressed early and broke through in the 17th minute. Just one minute later, a Hockinson attacker put home a loose ball in the box to make it 2-0.
“We were a little undisciplined in the back today,” Tumwater coach Abbey Bergquist said. “We definitely got caught on our heels, missed the tackle, and then didn’t shift over.”
The next 40 minutes weren’t as lopsided. Both teams pushed the ball into the other’s attacking third, but Grade-A chances came few and far between.
It wasn’t until the 64th minute that the Hawks were able to get an insurance goal to make it 3-0.
“They’re a great defensive team,” Bergquist said. “They are a hard team to break down defensively. We just gotta tip our hat to them.”
Right after the postgame handshakes, Hockinson made its way towards its bench and began celebrating.
On the other bench, Tumwater’s attention immediately shifted to Thursday, when it will host Ridgefield in an elimination game. On Oct. 18, the Spudders topped the T-Birds 1-0 on the turf at Tumwater District Stadium.
With a win, Tumwater (12-5-1) would host a winner-to-state elimination game on Saturday against either W.F. West or Woodland.
“We’re already focused on the next one, because that’s all we can control,” Bergquist said. “We can’t control what just ended. We can control what we walk into with the attitude that we have on Thursday … It’ll be a good matchup.”
