W.F. West opened its season with an impressive performance on Thursday, when the Bearcats shut out Capital 2-0 for their first win of the fall.
The first 10 minutes was a bit “jittery” on both sides, according to W.F. West coach Kevin Schultz, but the Bearcats settled in and began to generate scoring chances.
They hit the post three times in the first half, but went into the break deadlocked at zero.
It wasn’t until the 50th minute when Izzy Teeter broke the scoreless tie off an assist from Mirabel Burger. Later in the half, Teeter returned the favor, assisting Burger, a freshman who capped her first high school game with a goal.
“She had a really good game,” Schultz said, adding that he expects her to be a key presence for the foreseeable future. “She controlled the ball well.”
By the end of the game, the Bearcats had outshot the Cougars 18-10, and they had controlled the majority of the matchup after the opening ten minutes.
“(Capital) had some good physical play, and I thought we did a good job of matching that,” Schultz said. “We wanna be a little tougher this year, and I thought that was in a good spot … I was just really happy with our toughness tonight and the way we started out that second half.”
With Charlee Nelson still on her way back from an injury, junior Sierra Wood stepped in net, and she made seven saves in her first varsity game.
“She’s trained really hard last week and a half,” Schultz said. “She made a couple really good saves, and we're really proud of her. And it’s good for us knowing we have another option in goal.”
Sophia Abbarno also impressed at the six in her varsity debut, earning Player of the Match honors after commanding the midfield throughout the game.
“We are giving a big role to her,” Schultz said. “She did such a good job cutting off the opposing attacks and finding passes going forward. We’re really proud of the way Sophia played today.”
In addition to multiple players making their debuts, a couple of other Bearcats returned to the field after making their way back from injury.
Ashlen Gruginski played about 30 minutes, and both Tanner and Taylor Tobin also got back on the field.
“It was really cool for us to get some of those players back and see some of that stuff come together,” Schultz said.
Capital recorded 12 shots on goal and five corner kicks against the experienced Bearcats, a welcome sign for head coach Adriana Montes.
"Our girls battled hard and held them to a tie at halftime, showing early on that we were ready to compete," she said. "We continued to push throughout the game, and the way we pressed and fought during the final half showed just how much heart, determination, and drive this team has."
W.F. West (1-0) will hit the road for the first time on Tuesday, when it heads south to face R.A. Long. Capital (0-1) will square off with arch rival Olympia (1-0) at Ingersoll Stadium Tuesday, Sept. 8.
