LACEY — Thursday, Oct. 1 on the Timberline girls soccer schedule will read a 2-2 tie with Central Kitsap to those outside the program.
But for the 16 varsity players and the coaching staff, the Blazers will remember that night as a potential turning point in their season.
Timberline’s offense turned a scoreless first half filled with solid scoring opportunities into a second-half masterclass of ball movement and speed against Central Kitsap. The Blazers scored twice in an 11-minute span after halftime, but the Cougars hit the game-tying free kick in the final 15 minutes to hand Timberline its second consecutive draw.
Timberline’s offense has been up and down in 2026 so far. The Blazers scored four times in their first five games as they started 1-4 in non-league play, but they have yet to lose in Puget Sound League action and have scored 16 goals in the last four contests.
Head coach Chris Crowe’s bunch didn’t break any records on the scoreboard or tally any eye-popping statistics on the clipboard against Central Kitsap.
This game was different strictly off of Timberline’s mentality alone.
“The biggest thing was them believing. They haven’t believed up to this point,” Crowe said. “After the first half went 0-0, they knew that they could take this team. We had speed up top.”
Timberline yielded plenty of good looks in the first half offensively, starting with a trifecta of shots from senior forward Hannah Jackson in the first seven minutes. The last of those three chances came on a great through ball from Abigail Green off a counter attack, but Jackson couldn't put it through the net.
Hannah Bustillo Steik, nicknamed “Junior,” had three shot attempts of her own in the first half, and two were saved by Central Kitsap goalkeeper Kaylie Stacy. Blazers goalkeeper Lola Egger plucked away a header by Bailey Milovich in a traffic jam near the box 19 minutes into the match.
Just before halftime, Jackson set up Bustillo Steik with a perfect pass from the right side of the pitch, and Bustillo Steik couldn’t complete the connection, sending the shot high and wide left.
At the scoreless intermission, the message from Crowe and the coaching staff was simple.
“Be more aggressive and find our wings,” sophomore Zeta Towers recalled. “Even though they have a high line, we have speed. Find through balls on the ground and not in the air.”
That message seemed to energize Timberline, but that confidence took a shot in the 49th minute when Cougars freshman Clio Secrest scored a right-footed goal into the left side of the net to break the scoreless spell.
Just two minutes later, Green booted an indirect free kick into the center of the pitch near the box. Bustillo Steik corralled the kick and fed freshman defender Logan Graham, who struck gold with a goal that just sailed over the head of Stacy and into the left side of the net.
The Blazers’ speed began to take over the game from that point. Bustillo Steik and Towers blitzed the Cougars defense with breakaways, including a one-on-one between Towers and Stacy that resulted in Towers missing wide to the right.
In the 62nd minute, Towers made up for the miss. She controlled a pass from Green with her left foot, cut past her defender and fired a shot that came off her right foot like a changeup pitch in baseball. The kick appeared to be headed to Stacy’s right side, but it broke to her left as she dove to the right, clanking off the top of the post and into the net.
Towers used some advice from her father, Timberline boys soccer head coach Mark Towers, before the game to give the Blazers a 2-1 lead in the second half.
“Before the game, my dad told me to cut in with my left foot and then just take the shot,” Zeta Towers said.
“She’s a big-time playmaker. She’s got a phenomenal kick. She’s got speed. She’s got good movement,” Crowe said of Towers.
Egger made some clutch saves in the second half to keep Timberline in front, until the 65th minute, when a 30-yard free kick by Milovich somehow snuck its way over the outstretched arm of Egger and into the left side of the net, tying the game at 2-2.
The Blazers created another healthy batch of strong looks in the final 15 minutes, with Jackson getting at least four before the final whistle.
Timberline finished with 12 shots, including 10 on goal, and Egger recorded 11 saves in net.
With seven more league games before the regular season concludes at the end of the month, Crowe sees Thursday’s game as one that could propel his team to new heights.
“This game is definitely a believing game that helps build their camaraderie, helps build their confidence in themselves, and I think we just build off of that,” Crowe said. “They knew they could beat this team. It was just getting them to believe they could beat this team.”
Timberline (3-4-2, 2-0-2 Puget Sound League) will visit Peninsula (2-4, 2-2 PSL) Tuesday, Oct. 6.
