C2BL Soccer: First Draw Under New Rules as Napavine and Adna Finish 1-1

9/20/23

Napavine 1, Adna 1

(Adna, WA) With a new season comes new rules for many sports and leagues and the Central 2B League for girls soccer added some new things as well. Draws are now possible as they will go by a point system for the league. Three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. The new rules were on display on Wednesday night in Adna as the Pirates hosted the Napavine Tigers in a league opener for both teams. When the dust settled at Pirate Stadium, it was first for the league and the rivalry as Napavine and Adna played 80 minutes to end in a 1-1 draw.

The first half of the match was a defensive battle between the league rivals. With a backup goalie in Bailey Naillon in goal for the opening 40 minutes, the Adna defense was tremendous in not allowing much pressure on their keeper. Ava and Margarite Humphrey were all over the place constantly to not allow Napavine to get comfortable at all on offense. Myra Medina and Alyson Terry were tested on the other side of the field as well, but it came with the same result as the Pirate defense was playing very well, with the perfect combination of physicality and speed.

Napavine’s defense was very strong as well. Adna did get off more shots in the opening half, but sophomore goalie Taylen Evander put the kibosh on every single one of them. Maya Kunkel was the leader of the defense but had plenty of help from Clara Fay, Emma Stewart, and Maddie Dickinson. The midfielders also did a great job helping on defense, but the Tigers just could not get their offense going against the tough Adna defense and we were scoreless at halftime.

Finally, Napavine would get their breakthrough. After a free kick taken inside the Adna 18, Napavine won the possession. Hayden Kaut sent a long ball to Hannah Fay who won the possession for a breakaway opportunity. Fay used her left foot to beat the Adna keeper and in the 47th minute, Napavine had a 1-0 lead.

Lydia Tobin took over from there and started putting a ton of pressure on Napavine’s defense. Evander came up with a number of great saves including one that stood out above the rest. A penalty kick was awarded to Adna and Lydia Tobin was the one to take the shot. Evander was having none of it. Another tremendous save knocked the ball away. Sophie Hagseth followed it up with another shot, but once again Evander denied it, keeping the Tigers in front 1-0.

As the game progressed, Adna continued to pressure Napavine. Thanks to a set piece, the Pirates found the equalizer. The free kick found Margarite Humphrey who then sent it to Bailey Naillon, the starting keeper in this one for Adna. Naillon got around one defender and chipped in a perfectly placed shot over Evander to tie things up at 1-1 in the 72nd minute. Napavine had one last look, but Jordanne Moon came up with the clutch save and the final horn sounded as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the match was Napavine goalie Taylen Evander. Evander was clutch all match long for Napavine as she recorded 12 saves in what could have been a loss for the Tigers. Instead, Evander commanded the defense and stepped up when they did get beat to do everything she could to help take the pressure off of her offense. As just a sophomore, Evander is quickly turning into one of the best goalies at the 2B level and will eventually be one of the best goalies in the state regardless of classification.

Our Better Homes and Gardens Takin’ it to the House Play of the Game went to Bailey Naillon of the Adna Pirates. Naillon not only stepped up for her team to play 40 minutes of goalie, but also earned her team a point in the standings. The great cut inside and an even better shot found the back of the net and netted Adna a late equalizer.

After the league opener, Napavine moves to 1-1-2 overall and 0-0-1 in league play. They will get right back in action on Thursday night when they host a very strong non-league foe in the Elma Eagles. Adna now sits at 0-4-3 overall with a very difficult non-league schedule but 0-0-1 also in league play. They will be back in action on Monday when they host another league foe in the Toledo Riverhawks.