The Cascade High School girls' soccer team rounded off a successful season with postseason play in the WIAA District 5 tournament. The team ended the regular season with a record of 12-3-0 which led to them breaking into the top 10 in WIAA’s 1A Rating Percentage Index rankings. The girls secured a Caribou Trail League Championship and went undefeated in league play (4-0-0). Seniors Teyva Dillon, Leslie Mata, and Maizy Groff took home CTL first team all-league honors and Dillon also secured the Player of the Year award. Adi Casteneda (11), Amaya Blue (10), Zoie Burpee (10), Kate Smith (10), and Cadigan Adams (9) were all voted second team all-league.
The girls’ postseason play kicked off through the League Tournament final where the Kodiaks took down the Omak Pioneers in a hard-fought game to win the title by a score of 3-0. The girls moved on to districts. With the changing of leagues from the Quincy Jackrabbits and Cashmere Bulldogs, the CTL combined with the South-Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) to form District 5. The tournament involved the top six teams from the SCAC and the top two teams from the CTL to create an eight-team, double-elimination tournament.
The eight teams were seeded by a committee, who ranked the Kodiaks as #3.
Cascade faced off against the Wahluke Warriors at home in an intense game going back and forth. The game came to full time with a score of 1-1 and the girls readied for extra time. Two five-minute halves ensued with chances on both ends, but the final whistle blew, and the game came to the dreaded penalty kicks. The heroics continued with Teyva Dillon (12), Adi Casteneda (11), Adi Driscoll (11), and Leslie Mata (12) all scoring their penalties. Goalkeeper Kikkan Brine (10) came up big saving a Wahluke penalty and keeping the Kodiaks in the game. The Kodiaks fought hard but unfortunately lost the game in penalties.
“I don’t think we were as prepared as we could’ve been. We should've practiced pk’s more and we could have won that game. The game was exciting and nerve racking and definitely a good experience for our team,” said Casteneda.
The season was not over, however, and the team readied for their next test: a rematch against the Omak Pioneers. The game started off intensely, but the Kodiaks showed their strength and determination, showcasing the performance of CTL Player of the Year Teyva Dillon, who scored four goals in the game to take the win with a scoreline of 7-0. The team moved on, now facing Kiona Benton. The game started off rocky, going into halftime down 0-3. The Kodiaks fought back with one of the best comeback stories of Cascade girls' soccer history: two goals from Cadigan Adams and a third from Dillon to tie the game up 3-3. The heart-fought game ended with a crushing fourth and final goal from Kiona Benton to finish the game 3-4.
“It was amazing to see us come back like that. Historically we are definitely a second-half team, and it was really cool to see us come back and for a second, I believed we were going to get the win,” reflected Mia Dreis (12).
The team was heartbroken by the defeat, but they were not done yet, as there was still a route to the state tournament. The team was set up with a rematch against Wahluke and they were determined to fight. This time, there was no holding back and the team worked together beautifully, playing one of their best games of the season as they took down the Warriors 6-0, and moving into a winner-goes-to-state match against the Lakeside Eagles. The game was a long awaited one, as the Cascade girls' soccer team hadn’t been to the state tournament since their 2nd place finish in 2019. The Kodiaks fought hard with stellar performances all around. They team created many chances and played some beautiful soccer, but in the end couldn’t pull off the victory. The season came to an end as the Kodiaks suffered a crushing two-zero loss.
The team didn’t make it to the state tournament as they hoped, but it was not a season to forget. The girls' team had an extremely successful season with many memorable moments created. Teyva Dillon ended her senior season with an impressive 33 goals and 17 assists, going down in the history books as one of CHS’ all-time top scorers. Overall, every member of the team had a season to be extremely proud of and the team will look to build on their success in the upcoming years.
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