Columbia River, Camas play in soccer semis

The girls soccer teams from Columbia River and Camas on Friday will shoot for a spot in state championship matches — each hoping to come home Saturday with its school’s second girls soccer state title.

The top four teams in both the 3A and 4A classifications will gather at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup for semifinal matches.

Columbia River will kick off today’s action with a 2 p.m. match against Liberty of Renton in a Class 3A semifinal. Camas will wrap up the day with its 8 p.m. match against Issaquah in the second class 4A semifinal match.

Unbeaten Columbia River (17-0-2) is the highest ranked Class 3A team left in the tournament. The Chieftains, who were No. 4 in the final Seattle Times rankings prior to the state playoffs, advanced this far by beating defending champion Seattle Prep and top-ranked Meadowdale. Meadowdale was 20-0 before River beat it 1-0 in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

This Columbia River team is trying to duplicate the title run the Chieftains made in 2009.

Liberty (14-3-1) was No. 5 in the final Seattle Times 3A rankings. The second 3A semifinal pits No. 7-ranked Holy Names against Mount Spokane.

Camas (17-3-1) was not ranked entering its first Class 4A state tournament. The Papermakers made eight consecutive 3A state tournaments, winning it all in 2005.

The school moved up to the 4A enrollment classification for the first time this fall. Issaquah was ranked fifth by the Seattle Times.

The first 4A semifinal — No. 1 Tahoma against No. 4 Skyline at 6 p.m. — figures to get more attention.