Powers at the top of the 2A Big League St. Helens proved their mettle once again in the girls soccer state playoffs.
Double-seeded No. 12 Ridgefield and No. 16 Hawkinson each earned road wins to advance to the state quarterfinals in Wednesday’s first round, joining fellow 2A GSHL team Columbia River. All three teams reached the Class 2A state final four in 2019 and 2021.
Ellie Seekins and Abby Dombrow each scored in the first half of Hawkinson’s 2-1 win over No. 1 seed Fife, an 18-0 undefeated team that entered Wednesday’s game. Hawkinson will host No. 9 Enumclaw on Saturday.
Ridgefield was tied 1-1 at halftime against No. 5 East Valley of Yakima before the Spudders scored two unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes to claim a 3-1 win.
Ellie Petersen, Marlee Buffham and Victoria Lash each had one goal for the Spudders, who will face No. 4 Sehome on Saturday in Bellingham.