By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Early attack mode sent the Nisqually 1A League Seattle Christian Warriors' girls' soccer team into an early lead en route to a deceivingly close 3-2 non-conference win against the visiting Evergreen Conference 2A W.F. West (Chehalis) Bearcats at Valley Ridge Park field No. 3 on Tues., Sept. 15.

"We had some good passing early," said Tanna Brinkman. "Then, we were able to keep getting good shots on goal."

Aggressively pursuing the ball, the Warriors peppered the Bearcat goal regularly with shots and kept the visitors on their heels from the outset.

The constant pressure paid off in an unassisted Megan Nielsen (who was celebrating her birthday) goal in the 10th minute.

As the home team poured in shot after shot, the W.F. West keeper Kyndra Haller strove mightily to prevent the onslaught of shots out of goal.
By the 20th minute, the tired Bearcat defenders yielded a second goal.
Morgan Gaston cleared to take a nice pass from Isabella Responte and quickly nailed another SC goal.

With the interval times between shots lessening, Responte deposited her own goal in the 25th minute.

W.F. West scored a goal by midfielder Anna Russell shortly before halftime draw her team within 3-1.

Despite continuous pounding away, Seattle Christian was unable to score again. Shots hit the crossbar or just barely missed going into net. the Bearcat keeper stayed busy, also with tough saves.

W.F. West did score a second half goal against a mixed group of Warrior starters and reserves. As a preparation for league match ups. SC began their substitutions midway through the first half.

With the defection of former Nisqually League schools to other leagues, it left a great void in the number of matches to play. Seattle Christian has done its best to fill out the schedule with tough opponents from higher school population classifications.

"I love the challenge of tougher teams," said Erin Swain who switched her first half keeper duties to Makenzie May in order to play forward in the second half. "It's interesting to play teams like Eastlake (who beat SCS 2-0 on Mon.)."

W.F. West head coach Tino Sanchez viewed his team's slow start.
"We came out flat, but the second half was better," he said. "Anna Russell, Hannah Tak, McKenna Moon and the entire defense worked hard."
For Seattle Christian, this season showcases the defense more, with younger players on the front line.

"We have really young team, maybe the youngest since I've been here," said Warrior head coach Melissa Dunckley. "Getting players to be more comfortable with their roles is the biggest part. Our defense is strong with experience on the back line. Most of our younger players need to work on attacking hard. Scheduling tough non-conference teams is wonderful to get us ready for league and the playoffs,."

With the girls soccer program being perennial playoff and state contenders, coach Dunckley is optimistic.

"We're capable," she concluded. "With a lot of work and coming together, the potential is there."