Columbia girls soccer team beats Stevenson (9-1)

Three players scored two goals for the Bruins, including sophomore midfielder Saylor Hauge, junior Taylor Hanson, and sophomore Sequoia Cohen. The eight goals scored was the most by a Bruin team in the past four years.

The Bruins were seeking to win a second straight league contest in the opening home game of their league schedule when they met the King’s Way Christian High Knights on Sept. 24. The Bruins, guided by fourth-year Coach Adriana Clayton, nearly accomplished their goal, but fell a little short in a 2-1 loss to the Knights (3-1) at Columbia High School in White Salmon. Hauge, a midfielder who is the Bruins’ leading scorer, scored the goal for Columbia.

“It was a disappointing loss, because we obviously wanted to win our first conference home game,” said Clayton. “It was close, and we fought hard, but unfortunately, we have a lot of injuries now and so I only have one sub. Hopefully, we won’t have any more injuries. Saylor has been our most notable player in every game. She has been just like a rock, and she’s been playing amazing. The quality of her goals is just amazing. She’s been scoring from 10-15 yards outside the 18-yard box on set pieces and free kicks.”

The Bruins were hoping to bounce back from Saturday’s loss and get a win on Tuesday at home versus the Castle Rock Rockets (result was after the printed edition deadline). Columbia’s next game is Thursday at 6 p.m. at home against the La Center High Wildcats (1-0 league, 5-0-1 overall), followed by an Oct. 4 game at Seton Catholic High School.

“The girls have all been working really hard and I’m happy with what I’m seeing from everybody’s effort,” said Clayton. “During the Stevenson game, everybody was wanting to score. It was really nice to see Lila Witherrite score on a penalty kick. She scored on the first try, but it was disallowed and then on the second kick, she scored again, which is really difficult to do under pressure. She usually comes off the bench and to see her well-focused and have confidence was really nice and it was a pretty special moment.”

Bruin senior goalkeeper, Jazmyne Orr, has made multiple saves in every game to help lead the defense. “Jazmyne has come out of her comfort zone, and she’s been playing really aggressive,” said Clayton. “If it weren’t for her outstanding performance that she had on Saturday, there would’ve definitely been more goals scored by King’s Way.”