WOODLAND — The La Center girls soccer team’s season came to an end Wednesday night as The Bush School of Seattle stunned the Wildcats 2-1 in the first round of the 1A state tournament at Woodland High School.
Catherine LaFromboise scored on a deflection from a long ball by Carolina Harr in stoppage time in the first half for the Blazers (8-5-5) who came in as the 12 seed. Sydney Karjian added a goal on a penalty kick for The Bush School.
“We just came out really flat tonight,” La Center head coach Matt Cone said. “We just didn’t execute our game plan and do the things we talked about doing against them. That goal that ricocheted off someone’s foot we never recovered from.”
Shaela Bradley notched a goal in the second half for fifth-seeded La Center (13-2-2) as the speedy sophomore finished a brilliant run by depositing the ball in the back left-hand corner of the net.
The Wildcats increased the pressure late in the second half looking for the tying goal but couldn’t convert.
“We had a little bit of life in the last 10 minutes but it wasn’t enough. We just didn’t play our best soccer tonight,” Cone said.
Assistant coach Gary Osterhage felt there might have been some lingering effects from the Wildcats’ district championship win over Montesano on Saturday.
“We were a little banged up after the Montesano match,” Osterhage said. “And we weren’t as good with our first touches as we have been all season.”
La Center graduates seven seniors off of a team that hadn’t lost a match in over two months and outscored its opponents 80-18 for the season.
The Bush School advances to face Seattle Academy in the quarterfinals.
BUSH SCHOOL 2, LA CENTER 1
La Center
Goal (assist) — Shaela Bradley (Jillian Pratt); Goalkeeper saves — Sophia Johnson 5.
Bush School
Goals (assists) — Catherine LaFromboise (Carolina Harr), Sydney Karjian (PK).
Halftime — Bush 1-0.
