The Tenino girls soccer team trailed in the second half against Overlake in Redmond on Saturday, but the Beavers found an equalizer and earned a 2-2 draw in the non-league contest.
Rayanna Mustoe put Tenino on the board in just the sixth minute of the game, but Overlake tied it at one before the break and took the lead in the 56th minute.
It took Tenino just eight minutes to level things at two, though, as Maria Summers converted on a pass from Kyla Watson in the 64th minute.
“We felt we came out with really good energy to get that first goal,” Tenino coach Trevor Fetbrandt said. “They got the next two, and it kind of put us on our heels for the first time this season. We had to dig in and defend a bit more than we’ve been accustomed to. It was a really big test and a good battle to prepare us for some of these games down the road.”
Fetbrandt added that he was proud to see his group’s "competitive grit” come through, saying that it was something the team had talked about prior to the matchup.
“Not every game is gonna be comfortable,” Fetbrandt said. “There’s gonna be teams that we play that will be better than us for spells of time. We need to be able to say that we can defend for our lives and weather the storm until we can get the game settled back down and create some opportunities again.”
Gracie Sweet had an outstanding day in net, notching 10 saves, including a few that Fetbrandt said she may have struggled with in the past.
“She’s shown some real growth,” Fetbrandt said. “We feel like we have arguably one of the best keepers in the entire area, and she displayed that (on Saturday).”
Fetbrandt also praised Sophie Espino, who shadowed Overlake’s top attacker and shut her down throughout the 80 minutes.
“She was so composed in space, she would scrap when it was 50/50,” Fetbrandt said. “She had a complete performance, and it was noticeable. I'm glad that people got to see how talented she really is.”
Tenino (3-1-1) will be back at home to host Onalaska, a team that has wins over Rochester, Crosspoint Christian, and Mount Vernon Christian.
“They have a couple of really good wins under their belt this year,” Fetbrandt said. “It should be a fun game.”
