With less than ten minutes to play, all the momentum was with Rochester.
The Tenino Beavers had just surrendered the game-tying goal, and a second yellow card put them at 10 players for the remainder of the game.
A final offensive push from Callie Mickelson led to a free kick, though, and Kyla Watson scored her second goal of the game on the kick to lift the Beavers to a 3-2 victory over the Warriors in a 1A District 4 Winner to State game on the blacktop on Saturday afternoon.
“We could definitely have let the game get away from us,” Tenino co-head coach Trevor Fetbrandt said. “The girls dug deep.”
Rochester’s Kenna Pratt opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, but Mickelson was able to tie it before half with a goal on a free kick.
All three goals in the second half came on free kicks, including Watson’s first in the 58th minute and Pratt’s second goal of the game in the 72nd. The foul that led to Pratt’s free kick drew a second yellow for Maria Summers, which put the Beavers at 10 men.
The entire game “had an edge to it,” as both teams were called for 14 fouls.
Needing a final push, Callie Mickelson “doubled her workload” and eventually earned the free kick that Watson buried for the win.
It’s Tenino’s first trip to state since 2021, which was the last of four straight state tournament appearances for the Beavers.
Co-head coach Dave Montgomery was an assistant then, and he said when the Class of 2022 graduated, the program had to nearly undergo a complete reset.
“We were so deep in talent during that stretch,” Montgomery said. “We really had to start from the ground up.”
Fetbrandt’s first year was in 2022, and he said that one of his goals when coming was establishing a program that could consistently make the postseason.
“We had talked about the long-term development,” Fetbrandt said. “Every single year, we have produced and grown as a program and all the credit goes to the players … All the credit goes to the players, and the parents for believing in us and the players. We can't be more excited for all the families and the players.”
Montgomery gave Fetbrandt credit for elevating the program, saying that with him in the fold, they and their three assistants — Gilbert Espino, Gabe Stuard, Kami Oliveira — can all fill in the spots where they are best at.
“I could not ask for a better group of coaches right now,” Montgomery said. “We are so, so blessed.”
Montgomery and Fetbrandt, of course, also gave credit to each and every one of their players, saying none of it would be possible without their buy-in, and they also gave a shoutout to their families, the Tenino students, and the town of Tenino for making Saturday’s game have the atmosphere of a state tournament game.
“The place was rocking,” Fetbrandt said. “It was such a cool atmosphere to win a game to go to state on your field and celebrate with the entire town. Kudos to them.”
Tenino (13-4-2) will learn their seed and Round of 16 opponent on Sunday.
Rochester finishes its season 7-12-1 and will graduate six seniors: Emily Beasley, Ariel Maekawa Sanborn, Alli Barth, Pratt, Ayla Hamilton, and Sophie Wiss.
