OLYMPIA--Mount Rainier played some of its best soccer of the season in its last game.

Problem was, they played it against a team Rams head coach Gary Hunter said was the best team that they played this season – Camas.

They lost, 6-0, to the Papermakers in a preliminary district round playoff eliminator. The game played Saturday, Nov. 7 at South Sound Stadium in Olympia precedes the 3A state tournament.

The Rams finished the season 12-4-1 in the Seamount League and 11-6-1 overall. They took third in their league before advancing to districts after having won their crossover game over Auburn-Mountainview the game before that. For having a first year coach, the Rams did great this season, just missing eclipsing last year’s mark of losing in the first round of state to eventual 2008 state champ, Everett, under then-coach Jerry Cappondanno

“That was the best team we’ve played all season,” said Hunter of Camas.

Better than Kennedy?

“Them and Kennedy are the two best teams we’ve played this year,” elaborated Hunter.

Undefeated at the time (16-0-0), No. 2 state ranked Kennedy beat Mount Rainier, 7-0, the first time these two played in the Seamount regular season on Oct. 5. Then in the next season meeting, the Rams lost to the Lancers but improved the final score to 3-0 on Oct. 28 and it was closer than the final score. So...

In the latter game played for the Rams versus their rival, the Lancers didn’t score until 11 minutes into the second half in a tightly contested match. It was a game ball-controlled by the Lancers more of the time, but not much  more, and it was a game goal-controlled -- up to that point -- by neither team. Kennedy scored two more goals, at the 71st and 78th minutes, as Hunter admitted he pushed defenders up front, gambling on being scored on in favor of getting a goal themselves.

That says the Rams improved as this season went along, including tying Auburn-Mountainview, 0-0. Mountainview won the South Puget Sound League 3A League, including, in the postseason, having beat Kennedy in the SPSL 3A/Seamount league seeding championship game Nov. 4.

They were just better all over the field. The final score, 6-0, says Camas was a lot better all over the field, but they weren’t. They were a little better, by the number. And Camas had some very good numbers...

No. 14, No. 4, No. 20 and others were able to trap and move the ball on the run and pass to space and run routes into the 18-yard box that was just like watching a clock tick.

No. 20 was one of the wings who could chest trap the ball from the air while on the run. For many of these players, not just No. 20, it was like the ball was tethered to their thighs, feet, and chest.

No. 20 was most dangerous as she crossed the ball into the middle for two quick goals, goals five and six, in the last 10 minutes, but all through the game made threats. Goals three and four came after the first 10 minutes of the second half, again with No. 20 in on the action with crosses to other players. And here’s a new number, No 16, who could shoot it on goal. And goals one and two came in the first half for Camas, but not until the first 15-20 minutes of play. And Mount Rainier, not Camas, controlled the ball on their foe’s end -- for the most part -- the last 10 minutes of the first half.

Threatening, threatening, threatening... but not scoring, those admirable Rams, who played this season with a new coach, Hunter, taking over for fiery and knowledgeable Jerry Cappodanno, who was sitting on sidelines watching games this year but not as the head coach.

Hunter watched his girls do well out there, getting connections of passes more than a few times. The same coach, Roland Minder, for the boys team also coaches the girls for Camas, so, that’s one heck of a combination there. But the Rams played tough in this game. Could have won? Probably not. Camas was just too tough.

“They were a very good passing team, they passed the ball all over the field,” said Brook Luchau, one of five seniors on the team for the Rams, who made some nice sliding saves in this game or the final score could have been worse. Just about every shot Camas took, including the fifth and sixth goals, made from point-blank range inside the six-yard box, was not a gimme goal. Even a world class keeper would have had a hard time saving the shots. They were placed in the net, perfectly in the upper vee, lower corner, anywhere away from the keeper.

Speaking of No. 20 for Camas, she played pretty much all over the field, switching left side, right side, trying to find weaknesses in the Rams’ defense. She never really found it as the fifth and sixth goals were scored in garbage time. Maylynn Mitchell, only a sophomore right fullback, did great in the second half, bullying No. 20 off the ball. Good ole No. 20 and No. 16. Just numbers. But, oh, good numbers.

Great soccer players that lost 2-0 to Kennedy last Nov. 12 in the first round of the 3A state tournament. But, though winning, Kennedy knew they were threatened and could have lost that one if their overall skill, determination, execution, confidence had not won out.

So this game was not so close score-wise, the likes of Eryn Brown and Olivia Lovell for Camas, and shut-out keeper, Jamie Carter, just filled the lane with players making runs all game long and some of those runs went in. But the start of the game was a miscommunication goal for Camas in the near-20th minute and then a little later a corner kick goal was put in. So, the defense for the Rams in the general run of play was tough in this game. The Camas first goals were off a mistake in the back from the Rams and a set play, if a “corner kick,” can be called that.

The Rams should be tough next year, too, with players like midfielder Callie Fuchigami returning and Clarissa Strayer.

Strayer worked hard in this game, just not getting many chances to put shots in against a staunch Papermakers defense. Fuchigami made many passes of hers count but the melee of Camas players always pressuring kept the ball going awry often in interceptions. No. 20, the Rams’ No. 20, junior Madalyn Freeman, played well up front, going after passes from Mitchell and others pushing the ball forward like senior Kayleigh O’Donnell.

“We will be better next year,” said Fuchigami. “We should continue our development as a team under our new coach.

“Yeah, our last coach was really energetic and you knew when you made a mistake and with our new coach we have to learn how to understand what he wants us to do out there,” said Fuchigami. “We like our new coach. He knows what he is doing and it just took us getting used to his way of coaching.”

That explains the way the Rams just improved as the season went along and should continue this kind of improvement into next season.

So just forget about this Camas game. It was just a game played against a team that should be in the championship and that should be against Kennedy. And next year the Rams should be even better than this year under Hunter, which should get them that much closer to the state championship.