From the moment the Rochester girls soccer team arrived at Olympic Stadium on Thursday evening, it was clear the Warriors weren’t going to be in for a usual game.
Shortly after arriving, Rochester and Hoquiam agreed to play 8v8 due to a lack of players for Hoquiam, which was an adjustment for the Warriors in the early stages of the game.
Eight ended up being the magic number for the Warriors though, as they scored eight goals to earn an 8-0 mercy-rule victory in 67 minutes.
“Just an odd game all around,” Rochester coach Matt Ashton said while also giving credit to the Hoquiam goalkeeper for saving multiple other chances. “For us, the win is always the good thing because it’s a league game.”
Liz Hoover opened the scoring in just the third minute of the game, but the Warriors didn’t add a second until Hoquiam scored an own goal in the 27th minute. Chloe Hess added a third before the break, and the 3-0 scoreline held until the halftime whistle.
Hoover scored twice early in the second half, notching goals in the 50th and 57th minute, and the floodgates opened for the Rochester offense.
Over the next 10 minutes, Harley Frahman scored, Hess added her second, and Hoover ended the game with the mercy-rule walk-off winner in the 67th minute, her fourth goal of the game.
Kyanna Estrada had two assists on the night, and Sailor Fetch added another.
While the final scoreline reflected a dominant Rochester performance, Ashton did say that there were areas that his group could improve on moving forward, particularly in relation to the team’s intensity throughout the match.
Rochester’s next chance to improve on that will come on Saturday in Vancouver in a makeup game against King’s Way Christian, and after that, the Warriors (7-3-2, 4-1-0 1A Evergreen) will host Tenino in a potential league-deciding matchup on Tuesday.
As it stands at the end of play on Thursday (Oct. 8), the Beavers sit atop the Evergreen standings at 4-0, while the Warriors are 4-1.
“I have no doubt that we will be ready to go,” Ashton said. “It could possibly decide who’s the league champion, and we haven’t been in the running for that for many, many years.”
