2A State Soccer: Talent and a little luck sends Columbia River past Sehome for third-place trophy
May 30-FEDERAL WAY - Talent can take you a long way.
But sometimes luck can take you a little farther.
The Columbia River boys soccer team had both ingredients working on Saturday.
Teagan Goaring scored a pair of first-half goals and Aeden Pena delivered a huge save on a late penalty kick to send the Rapids to a 2-1 win over Sehome of Bellingham in the 2A state third-place match at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
"It feels great to win on the second day (at the state finals) no matter which place your playing for," Goaring said.
River learned the hard way the value of an early goal in its semifinal loss to Squalicum on Friday.
A bit of luck helped the Rapids benefit from that early goal Saturday.
Goaring, a senior forward, was able to get his foot on a clearing pass from a Sehome defender, and the deflection went straight into the goal for a 1-0 lead six minutes into the match.
"I wouldn't say it was lucky because we said before the game that we were going to press them really hard," Goaring said. "We wanted to make sure they couldn't feel comfortable on the ball, especially their center backs. And when I saw him go to make that pass, I was able to stick my foot out in there. And the luck part of that is that it was able to roll into the goal.
"And think that really helped boost our confidence and helped us go out and win the game."
There was less luck involved in Goaring's second goal as the senior weaved his way through the Sehome defense before slipping a shot pass the keeper for 2-0 lead right before halftime.
"I was able to come inside and confuse their defense a bit," Goaring said. "Because ... I was out there playing the right wing. I was able to that 1-2 with Tyson (Massengale). It worked out so well, and then just go through."
In the second half, Sehome brought pressure but Pena was able to fend off challenges from the Mariners, until Sehome drew a foul in the box.
Mason Ivcevic connected on the penalty kick to get Sehome within 2-1 in the 60th minute.
Pena continued to turn away Sehome challenges as the clock started to wind down. But the Mariners got another penalty-kick chance in the 78th minute.
This time, Pena was ready.
"I almost had the first one," Pena said. "I just knew if it happened again, I would be there the second time. I read it right, and I was able to get to that. It felt great."
River coach Matt Newman said Pena has been a solid contributor in goal all season for the Rapids.
"Huge, absolutely huge," Newman said of Pena's PK save. "Aedan's been like that all season. I don't even know how many saves he has in non-PKs throughout the season, but he definitely helped us all year round. He was special today. I'm really proud of him."
Even though the Rapids had 12 seniors on the roster Saturday, many of those players joined the team this fall with limited varsity experience from the team that won the state title last year.
To finish the season with a victory and the third-place trophy was a fitting end, Pena said.
"Our thing together with the program is just be a family and leave a legacy," Pena said. "We know we pass it on to our incoming younger guys. We were able to go pretty far this year, and I'm really proud of these guys this year. And I can't ask for a better group."
Goaring added: "I'm really happy with how everything happened this year, even though we didn't go on to win everything. I think this is still a great accomplishment. And all those younger guys, having this experience, are going to go on and do great things."
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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 5:55 PM.