Camas girls soccer kicks into high gear

One year after advancing to the 4A state championship game, the Camas High School (CHS) girls soccer team has a new, younger look, but the traditional powerhouse is once again in a position to make a deep postseason run.

The first step for the Papermakers (10-4-0 overall, 5-1-0 4A Greater St. Helens League) is to chase down Union High School (UHS), which is undefeated in 4AGSHL play and has a one-game lead on the Papermakers after beating them 1-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

The two teams will meet again in their final regular season game on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver. CHS coach Keri Tomasetti is focused on winning another league title, which would allow the Papermakers to host their first 4A District 4 tournament contest.

“We are looking for that No. 1 position because No. 1 will host a playoff game and No. 2 will have to travel,” Tomasetti said.

Papermakers top Heritage on stormy night

CHS moved one step closer to the playoffs with a 4-0 win over Heritage High School on a stormy night at Doc Harris Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 17. Rain came down sideways, in sheets, for the entire first half, when the Papermakers were limited to just one goal.

“I think mentally they got it into their heads that (the rain) was a problem, and they started playing down and not adjusting to the skipping of the ball,” Tomasetti said. “(The rain) causes the trajectory to be slightly different, and it kind of slips more, so it’s quicker, and the ball just doesn’t roll the same way.”

CHS went on the attack at the start of the second half. After scoring the Papermakers’ only goal of the first half, junior Paige Nelson added two more scores for a hat trick, and Kiya Gramps also scored.

Nelson said the team may have been a bit overconfident against the Timberwolves, a last-place team which has yet to win a 4A GSHL game.

“I think we were a little cocky, just not very inspired to play in that first half,” Nelson said. “We tried to fix things and played our hardest in the second half.”

Nelson has improved since last season, when she didn’t score a single goal while playing for the Papermakers’ C-squad.

“This is really fun,” she said. “It’s so nice to finally be able to do this.”

The Papermakers’ leading scorer, junior Jasmine Whittington, left the Oct. 17 game late in the second half with a knee injury.

“She says she heard a bit of a pop, but she was standing and moving around, so we are getting it checked out and hope it’s only something minor,” Tomasetti said.

Whittington, Nelson and Gramps are among the league leaders in scoring this season.

“They work really well together and they press the ball and are eager to get goals and try for any opportunity they can,” Tomasetti said.

Now CHS is focused on an opportunity to win a league title. If the Papermakers beat Skyview High School at home on Friday, Oct. 25, the winner of their game against UHS on Oct. 29 will win the league championship.