Although the Camas High School (CHS) boys soccer team ended the season on a loss, they played an amazing season and achieved second place in the 4A state tournament. The team ended their season with a record of 19-2-2.
“I thought the season was a great experience,” freshman David Daley said, “I loved the environment and the competition it brought to improve me as a player.”
The team came into the state tournament on a 12-game win streak. This included two wins over their rivals at Union High School, the only team to beat the Papermakers in the regular season. This helped them to gain the No. 4 seed in the tournament and gave them two home games. The team beat both Mount Rainier High School and Chiawana High School at home to move on to the state semifinals.
“I had some nerves [going into the state final game], but overall it was not too much different from any other game, and it was a bit disappointing too by the end because of the result,” senior Markku Laukkanen said.
The Papermakers were matched up against the No. 1 seed Pasco for their semifinal. The match was personal for many of the CHS seniors because two years ago, Pasco knocked out Camas in the state Quarterfinals. After going down 0-2, the outcome of the game seemed final, but with a last-minute surge of energy from Camas, the Papermakers tied the game and sent it to penalty kicks. After an amazing game from junior Camas goalkeeper William Taves, the team subbed in senior Jack Odone for the penalties. The Papermakers scored all seven of their kicks and won the game after a Pasco player sent his shot over the crossbar.
“The semifinal was my favorite game all year,” Odone said, “An enormous comeback in the last 10 minutes, and then to be the goalie for penalties, it felt like a dream.”
The 4A state championship game was played between the Papermakers and Mount Si High School. The game started
poorly for the Papermakers who were down 0-3 at the end of the first half. Although they ended up losing the game, Camas came into the second half with renewed strength and fought off the Mount Si attack. Laukkanen scored their only goal late in the second half, which made the end score 1-3.
“Even though we didn’t come out victorious it was an awesome experience to be able to have under my belt. The atmosphere was insane and nothing came close to the crowd that was there. I’ve been in big games, but it felt even more incredible with the cheers from the fans,” sophomore Cooper Schneider said.
Although the team lost the final, both coaches and players were very happy with the season as a whole. The Papermakers achieved second place in the 4A state championships. This made history for the program as it was the first time a Camas boys soccer team has made it to the 4A state championship game.
“I am super proud of the team. We went so far, as far as we could go. The hard work in the beginning paid off, and the team chemistry was so incredible,” Odone said.
