Four first-half goals were too much for the North Thurston boys soccer team to overcome as the 20th-seeded Rams lost to 13th-seeded Walla Walla 4-0 in the Class 3A state opening round Tuesday night at Blue Devil Stadium.
The Rams, who had not allowed more than two goals in any game this season, trailed 4-0 at halftime and gave up goals in the 15th, 18th, 22nd and 32nd minutes. While North Thurston held Walla Walla scoreless in the final 40 minutes, the Rams couldn’t chip away into the deficit.
North Thurston’s season concludes with a 12-4-5 record and 7-1-2 mark in the Puget Sound League. The Rams advanced to the state tournament for the first time in three years by winning consecutive elimination games in the district tournament.
“Really tough game and definitely not an easy way to end our season. We felt really good about our game plan and preparation, but unfortunately we weren’t able to defend under such a high amount of pressure,” North Thurston coach Tristan Glazer said. “We missed parts of our game that we had all season, which makes it really hard in these critical games to get a result. Proud of how the boys battled in the second half. We just left ourselves too much ground to recover in 40 minutes.”
Five seniors will move on from the program — Michael Cook, Balde Irakoze, Eli Taylor, Leonardo Cortez, and Justin Gochez Herrera. The Rams will return a bevy of experienced players in 2027, including William Doerrheim, Rayan Moustafa, Easton Sexton, Ayden Valdez, and Royce Rodriguez, among others.
“Our senior group will definitely be missed, but those guys have added so much value to our program, helping us get to where we are now throughout their four years here,” Glazer said. “They can leave knowing they left this program in a better place and passed along so much experience to our group returning next year.”
