Jocelyn Burgess was on-target and the Wildcats are headed to state.
Burgess, a senior, scored three goals, including the game-winner with about 10 minutes as La Center clinched a berth in the Class 1A state tournament with a 3-2 win Thursday over Tenino in the district playoffs at Kalama High School.
“We’re going to celebrate this win for a while, then get ready to head north to play somebody,” La Center coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen said.
That somebody will be University Prep or King’s. The two Seattle school are co-champions of the District 1/2/3 tournament and will flip a coin to determine seeding to state. The Wildcats will play the No. 2 seed on Wednesday.
Unlike La Center’s opening playoff win against Elma, VanWeerdhuizen was pleased with his team’s intensity against Tenino.