Wildcat varsity soccer eliminated from playoffs

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Varsity girls soccer is done for the season.

Scoring eight goals, the Gig Harbor Tides knocked the Oak Harbor Wildcats out of the 3A State Tournament with an 8-2 win on Friday. Senior midfielders Maddie Mays and Mia McGaha had the Wildcats’ only goals, both coming in the second half.

“Gig Harbor had a great defense, and they were incredibly fast and tough,” Head Coach Mike Lonborg said. “We had some chances that we missed on, but they had a strong defense that didn’t stop working.”

Gig Harbor scored four unanswered goals — three in the first half — before Oak Harbor notched its first, a long-distance shot the Tides’ goalkeeper jumped to save but missed.

The Tides scored twice before the Wildcats’ second goal, from closer range yet beating the goalkeeper high once again. Gig Harbor followed up with two more before the end of the game.

“The girls kept playing hard the entire game, but Gig Harbor was just a more skilled team than we were, is the bottom line,” he added.

The Wildcats’ loss eliminates them from the postseason a win away from making the quarterfinals. Oak Harbor concluded its season with a 13-7-2 record overall including four playoff wins, according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Lonborg called it a success.

“We had a lot of senior leadership, and some very impressive freshmen that really stepped up and all the other players as well,” he said. “The girls worked hard together as a unit both on and off the field and that’s something that the coaches have really worked hard on ingraining in the team.”

Having the season come to an end is bittersweet for Lonborg.

“The team played with everything they had; we just went up against a team that had a lot of talent,” he said. “For some of the players, that will more than likely be the last soccer game they play as well, and that’s tough, because some of those girls have been playing for years.”

Gig Harbor fell to the Liberty Patriots 4-3 on Saturday, allowing the Patriots to advance to the semifinals on Nov. 21 in Puyallup. Liberty will take on the Eastside Catholic Crusaders in one semifinal game, and the Roosevelt Rough Riders will play the Bellevue Wolverines in the other.