Camas Papermakers' Alyssa Tomasini (22) fighs for ball conrol with Skyline Spartans' Clare Wate (12) and Julia Mitchell (16)in the WIAA 4A Semifinal Women's soccer match held Friday, November 18, 2016 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, WA. Tomasini kicked the winning goal in he 75th min to give the Papermakere a 1-0 win over the Spartans to advance to the championship match which will be held at 4 PM at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Jim Bryant for the ColumbianPhoto Gallery
PUYALLUP – All season, Alyssa Tomasini has been half of the Camas girls soccer team’s one-two punch on offense.
Friday, she delivered the decisive blow in the Class 4A state semifinals.
Yet after her shot curled into the goal late in a 1-0 win over Skyline, it was Tomasini who was gasping for air.
“I lost my breath for a second,” Tomasini, a senior, said. “It felt so great to put it in the net and help the team in that way.”
Tomasini’s goal with 10 minutes left put Camas into the state championship match for the first time since 2005, when the Papermakers won their only title. Camas will face West Valley of Yakima at 4 p.m. Saturday in Puyallup.
Offensive chances were always going to be rare during a close match at Sparks Stadium. Camas (21-0-1) had allowed two goals all season while Skyline (16-1-4) of Sammamish had allowed just four.
Tomasini did not blink when her chance came.
“I felt like it was her time,” Camas coach Roland Minder said. “She hadn’t scored in a couple of games. It just felt good when it went in.”
Lately, Camas has ridden the powerful boot of Maddie Kemp, who has scored nine of her team-record 30 goals in the postseason.
Tomasini scored her 22nd and biggest goal of the season when she controlled the ball near the edge of the penalty area. She hit a left-footed shot by the diving goalkeeper and just inside the right post.
“It’s huge, to have two players who can put the ball in the net,” Minder said. “If you just have one, they can man-mark that person out of the game. When you have two, it’s a little more difficult.”
Tomasini hit her shot solidly. But even she was surprised at its perfect placement just inside the far post and below the crossbar.
“I was aiming for the far post, definitely,” Tomasini said. “But I didn’t expect it to be right there.”
That left it up to the Camas defense to survive 10 minutes of everything Skyline could throw at them.
There were a few nervous moments, like when Skyline’s Mariah Alexander headed a corner kick just wide of the left post or when Sabine Postma reacted quickly to stop a Skyline run 25 yards from goal.
But no defensive moment was bigger than when goalkeeper Julia Coombs made a diving save on a low shot from 15 yards with three minutes to play.
When the final whistle blew, it exorcised some demons for 13 players on last year’s team, which fell in the semifinals to Issaquah in penalty kicks.
“I cried tears of joy, honestly,” senior defender Marley Lefore said. “Coming back from last year, we got it done. And that’s the best feeling ever.”
Camas played West Valley (18-2) on Sept. 10, beating the Rams 1-0. West Valley placed second in state last year.
What is the key for Camas to take home the title?
“Just playing our game,” Lefore said. “It’s going to be a battle, but I think we can do it.”
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
