Lowney, Casello score goals for Vikings in Puyallup’s 2-0 district win over Olympia

The Puyallup High School girls soccer team put together a methodical performance against 4A SPSL peer Olympia in a West Central District III seeding game on Saturday evening at Federal Way Memorial Stadium, controlling the game from the start.

It was a workmanlike performance, with a stifling back line and midfield that weren’t going to give the Bears many chances. But the Vikings racked up some style points, too.

In the eighth minute of the game, Callie Lowney finished a shot from near the edge of the box, sending it across the goal and into the right corner, putting Puyallup up 1-0 early.

The exclamation point came in the 59th minute, when a Puyallup throw-in found Sydney Evans, who headed the ball on to teammate Chloe Casello, who collected the ball on a bounce, took the volley and chipped it just over the keeper’s head and into the goal. It was a goal that would pass the eye test at any level.

“I just saw the ball coming in,” Evans said. “I knew that Sydney was going to flick it on, because that’s just one of her strong ways that she plays. I saw the ball coming and knew I just had to stay composed and just secure the goal into the back of the net.”

Puyallup coach Matt White, who led the boys time to the 4A state title last spring, knew it was a special goal.

“It was a pretty goal,” he said. “(Casello) has that. That’s one of those tools in her tool box. It was a good finish. We were really excited.”

Puyallup’s defense kept Olympia off the ball, and Puyallup’s offense kept coming straight at Olympia.

“Last time we played them, we really shut them down,” Evans said. “So we just came into this game knowing they were going to be stronger and tougher. So we just all came together, shut them down and talked. Our key was playing wide and getting at them. We all have that good connection and just fight and fight until the end. We just have that really strong connection with everyone.”

Casello said the team’s familiarity with each other has made this year’s group successful. Puyallup won the 4A SPSL title and both its district games, 1-0 over Skyview on Thursday preceding the win over Olympia on Saturday.

“We all work together pretty well and we’ve all played together a lot,” Casello said. “A lot of us play on club together. We all know what our next move is going to be. We can kind of anticipate what’s coming to get goals.”

With how aggressive Puyallup is in its pursuit of the ball, there are several players who can find themselves on the score sheet on any given night.

“We all have a different strong suit,” Casello said. “It definitely makes it difficult for other teams because there’s just so many different things coming at them at once. It’s really hard to guard all the different ways we can score.”

With more on the line in the postseason, Puyallup’s players haven’t shrunk from the challenge.

“We’ve had two games in a row focused on organization,” White said. “Everything ramps up, so teams start to mistakes when they get nervous. We’re not nervous — we’re solid. Kids are playing well, they’re in the right spots.”

With the win, Puyallup takes the West Central District III No. 2 seed into the state tournament, while Olympia will take the No. 3 seed.