In the final contest of the 2016 season the Skyline Spartans girls soccer squad reigned supreme against the Hanford Falcons in the Class 4A third/fourth place state soccer contest.
The Spartans, who scored two goals in the second half, earned a 2-0 win against the Falcons on Nov. 19 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Skyline finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 15-1-4. Skyline senior team Cameron Tingey, who had one goal and one assist in the contest, was glad her team ended the season with a victory after a 1-0 loss to the Camas Papermakers in the Class 4A semifinals on Nov. 18.
“It kind of provided a bit of closure. We didn’t get what we wanted yesterday. We obviously wanted to go to the finals but just having that moment where we could just come together and play our last game was special. We got the outcome we wanted. It was a really good way to end the season,” Tingey said. “It is okay we weren’t first or second. We got third place and we did it as a team. I’m proud of our team.”
Skyline senior Alexa Kirton scored a goal in the 47th minute of play, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Tingey, who recorded the assist on Kirton’s goal, unleashed a perfect cross from the left side of the field to a wide open Kirton, who put the ball in the back of the net. Tingey scored a goal for the Spartans in the 79th minute of play to put the game away.
Skyline head coach Don Braman said his team exuded resiliency after suffering a heartbreaking loss against Camas in the semifinals.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them. We are really excited about what we were able to do. It was hard to not win yesterday but I really like that we played well and finished our opportunities today,” Braman said.
In the semifinal matchup against Camas, the score was 0-0 until the 70th minute of play. Camas forward Alyssa Tomasini unleashed a shot from close to 20 yards out on the left side of the field, which sailed into the upper right hand corner of the goal, giving the Papermakers a 1-0 lead.
Tingey had a solid shot on goal in the 75th minute but the opportunity was saved by Camas goalie Julia Coombs as the Papermakers held on for a 1-0 victory. It was the first loss of the 2016 season for the Spartans.
“It was really hard to not win today. We didn’t get outplayed by any means. We created the better opportunities to win this game but they just didn’t get in for us tonight,” Braman said.
