Picking up its second South Puget Sound League loss of the season, the Yelm High School girls soccer team was defeated, 5-0, by the Rogers Rams on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Puyallup.
Dealing with a number of injuries, the Tornados entered its last two SPSL matchups on Sept. 26 against Spanaway Lake and on Oct. 1 against Rogers, with just two subs available off the bench. Yelm head coach Jay Dorhauer said that health has factored into the team’s league matchups early in the season.
“We were down a couple players. Unfortunately, Mariah [Arnestad] was out. Haylee [Silvils] was out. Charlie [Simon], our center back, played the first half but was in bad pain and didn’t play the second half,” Dorhauer said. “Their goals came off of bad mistakes by us. If we’re able to clear the ball, I think it’s a much closer game.”
Despite the circumstances, Dorhauer said the girls have continued to play hard. He pointed to the opposing SPSL teams’ depth as something that will factor into games throughout the season.
“We’re a little outmatched in some of these league games, to be honest,” Dorhauer said. “Those teams have their rosters, from varsity to JV, filled with girls that play high-level club ball all year round. We don’t get that here in Yelm. A lot of our girls are just playing during the high school season, and I’m OK with that. I don’t blame them. There’s not a lot of clubs in our area, and it’s expensive.”
On Monday, Oct. 7, Dorhauer said Arnestad’s return for the team’s matchup with Emerald Ridge, Tuesday, Oct. 8, was uncertain. The results of that game were not available before press time.
He added that Simon was “day to day” with a sore foot, but Silvils would return to the lineup. He anticipates all three Tornados to be back in action soon. Dorhauer noted that, to accommodate the injuries, girls have had to play out of position. He said they’ve risen to the task and complimented Sage Rough’s play after she moved to center back with Simon’s absence.
“We’re getting some more depth back soon,” Dorhauer said. “We’ve got to adapt. We told the girls going in, especially in high school soccer, that you’re going to play all over the field. If you’re looking to play more soccer, that’s only going to help you, too.”
Despite a 5-0 shutout, Dorhauer said the team created a few offensive scoring chances, but not many.
“It was really just a product of being down a couple of people. Mariah’s a big part of our offense, and not having her in there affects us,” Dorhauer said. “We’re never going to be a team that scores a lot of goals against the top teams. We did well in our non-league games and scored a lot of goals, which is unusual. We’re a team that looks to get a goal or two off of transition and defend the rest of the game — try to get out of there with a 1-0, 2-0 win.”
As the Tornados continue in 4A SPSL action, Dorhauer said the team has its eyes set on a postseason berth. He said the Tornados want to compete and improve in every single contest, as well.
“We’re looking at that final playoff spot. I think that’s still achievable. That’s definitely our goal,” he said. “The goal is always, for us, is that we want to play until the last whistle of the last game, and play as hard as we did in the last game as we did in the first game. Whether we’re in it or not, we want to continue to work hard and see each individual get better.”
Yelm will return home at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 to host the Bonney Lake Panthers in 4A SPSL action. The Tornados will host back-to-back league games, as the Sumner Spartans roll into town for a 7 p.m. matchup Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Yelm.
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