Tualatin girls’ varsity soccer is a perennial playoff team, having taken the state championship several times in the past decade. But how will the team face off in this year’s bracket?
After a shortened, six-week 2021 spring soccer season brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic, many teams struggled with the lack of practice and experience. However, this years’ Tualatin team packs a punch, with several returning varsity athletes under veteran head coach Kalé Dwight.
Dwight has two state titles to his name with the Wolves – in his inaugural season in 2013 and the following season – and guided Tualatin to the state finals once more in 2015. More recently, however, Tualatin took the Three Rivers League (TRL) crown in 2019 with a team built on eight of the current varsity players.
So, with an abundance of player potential, Dwight and the Wolves kicked off the Fall 2021 season with prowess, despite following a discouraging 3-5-2 2021 spring season record.
“(The coaches) told them that last season was kind of like a long pre-season which is unfair to the seniors last year but that’s really what it was,” Dwight said. “No playoffs, we didn’t play everyone in league. It was also really frustrating. We ended up with three wins and those were our only three wins of the season. We’ve already started out this year significantly better.”
In the first three weeks back on the field, the Wolves built up a 2-1-2 record through non-league play and are ranked seventh in the 6A division according to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) power rankings. Tualatin allowed four goals through the first five games, three of which were hammered in by three-time defending state champion Jesuit, where the Wolves suffered their only loss in a 3-1 defeat.
Still, one defeat to a state power doesn’t define a season, and, in fact, the sole point scored on the Crusaders was the first on Jesuit in 25 games. So, as the Tualatin team has progressed through the season, senior captain Brook Burke noticed their promise.
“I see a lot of good potential,” Burke said at Tualatin’s Sept. 21 Southridge game. “We grow pretty much every game. So, I see more shutouts; lots of goals to be done. And I think with our fluidness on the field, there’s only going up.”
Among other things, the consensus from the team was that team chemistry was one of their strongest suits.
“We are one big family,” Burke said. “I mean a lot of people say that, but we are definitely a whole knit family. We’re a bunch of sisters out there. In school, on and off the field, we are just always together, always talking, always calling.”
Dwight echoed the sentiment.
“We’ve got a really good mentality on the team,” he said. “They also – this goes a long way – they get along really well. There’s a family atmosphere here on the team and it is fantastic. … Sometimes on teams, you see certain cliques happening and stuff. That is not at all going on. They’re all like sisters, but sisters that actually get along and don’t get in fights.”
This year’s Tualatin girls’ varsity soccer team is comprised of 11 juniors, five seniors, two sophomores and a lone freshman. Thirteen of them return from last year, and eight of that group from the 2019 season, all of whom played varsity in their freshman season.
In addition, the team built their strategy on team movement, rather than on a single star player, allowing for more shots on goal and several individuals to rely on. Unfortunately, this is also a source of contention. With so many shots attempted so far this year, there is only an average of 1.2 scores per game through the first five games.
“(We’re good at) shots on frame, but we’re also really good at hitting the crossbar and kicking it to the keeper,” Dwight said. “That’s actually been our season so far. We should’ve been up in a couple games 3-0 in 10 minutes. It’s been a little frustrating with that.”
In the Sept. 21 0-0 draw at Southridge, Tualatin managed 14 shots on goal in the second half alone, but none found the net. If that shortcoming is accounted for, come the start of league play on Oct. 4, the TRL could be in for a menacing contender.
“If we can figure out how to finish, we’re going to be very strong this season,” Dwight said. “That’s been the issue.”
