The Hockinson girls soccer team advanced into the semifinals round of the 2A state tournament for the first time since 2021 and left with a fourth-place finish after back-to-back losses.
The Hawks' defense stood out in their semifinal loss as they held the explosive West Valley High School offense to a single goal on Friday, Nov. 21. The Hawks then lost 2-0 to Anacortes High School the next morning in the third/fourth place matchup at Federal Way Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22.
To make it as far as the Hockinson Hawks did, head coach Tony Ayala believed his team overperformed expectations. He said his players had the hunger to make a deep postseason run after last year’s first-round exit.
“I’m so proud of the girls and so proud of making it to the final four,” Ayala said. “This experience has been awesome.”
Ayala added that the memories will serve a lifetime.
“Getting to this point, having all the fanfare,” Ayala said, “just being a team and staying in a motel and the van rides and all those things.”
To close out the final two games of the year, goalkeeper Audrey Armstrong was awarded the sportsmanship award in the semifinal matchup and again in the third/fourth place game.
“She’s just a big-time performer and shows up in these big games and time and time again in the regular season,” Ayala said. “You get into districts and state and she’s so composed. She’s just excellent with her feet. She’s great with her hands. Just an awesome, awesome, awesome leader for this team. She’s one of our captains and she’s only a junior, so she'll be back next year, and she’s going to have to be the quarterback of this team.”
Ayala added that the sportsmanship award just speaks to her fantastic character.
In order to reach the state playoffs, a strong group of opponents is a great experience builder, Ayala said. The Hawks ultimately played the 2A runner-up twice in their 2A Greater St. Helens League play, as well as reigning back-to-back state champions, the Ridgefield Spudders. Ayala said no matchup in the league can be taken for granted.
To find the last time a 2A GSHL opponent was not in the semifinals, well, all the way back to the 2013 season. Multiple times between 2013 and 2025, three out of four soccer squads in the final four hailed from the 2A GSHL.
In fact, the demanding league has been represented in the state championship match every season since 2019. In 2019, it was the Hockinson Hawks versus the Columbia River Rapids. After no season in 2020, the Hawks returned to the final game in 2021, both times in the state final, resulting in losses.
“There is not a game we can take off,” Ayala said of the 2A GSHL.
