Varsity girls soccer is state-bound.

Driving in all four of her team’s goals Thursday night in Shoreline, senior midfielder Maddie Mays propelled Oak Harbor to a 4-1 win over Ferndale High School, sending the Wildcats to state for the third year in a row.

“(Ferndale) played hard and were physical. They are a well-coached team,” head coach Mike Lonborg said. “Tonight, I just think that our team wanted it more.”

So far in the District 1 3A Tournament, Oak Harbor shut out Stanwood 5-0 in round one on Oct. 30 and beat Shorecrest 5-1 on Nov. 1 to advance to the district semifinals, where it lost to Shorewood 3-0 on Tuesday.

Facing elimination, Thursday’s game was Oak Harbor’s final chance to make state.

A much more collected showing by the Wildcats compared to Tuesday’s loss to Shorewood paid off for Oak Harbor early. With just over 36 minutes to go in the first half, senior midfielder Mia McGaha sent a perfectly timed pass to Mays, breaking away from three Golden Eagles, to beat Ferndale’s goalkeeper one-on-one.

Junior defender/midfielder Kasey O’Neill responded on Ferndale’s behalf about two minutes later to tie the game at one, beating Wildcat senior goalkeeper Eden Wilcox high and towards the far post.

Mays helped Oak Harbor retake the lead with just under 27 minutes remaining in the first half, on a play similar to her first goal. The Wildcats held onto their one-goal lead heading into halftime.

“Our midfield controlled the game and really pushed to win balls and prevented us from getting passed around, especially (senior midfielder) Nora Saltonstall,” McGaha said. “Our defense stuck with every ball and worked so incredibly hard. They were very physical and kept the ball out of our half.”

Mays scored twice in the second half, both goals resembling her earlier tallies, giving the Wildcats a substantial three-goal lead upon which to ride out the dying minutes of the game.

“She’s a special player. She works very hard and is very talented,” Lonborg said of the senior. “When she is on fire, she’s very hard to stop and the team feeds off her. She has one of the highest soccer IQs I’ve ever seen in a high school player.”

Lonborg said the Wildcats did not implement any “real adjustments” between games, instead crediting his team’s performance to the improved execution of established tactics.

“Our strategy is solid when we execute it,” he explained. “Tonight, the girls just worked hard and executed things. Our seniors led by example and set the tone.”

Junior defender Calleigh Boyer echoed that sentiment, drawing a connection between her team’s commitment and the circumstances.

“Tonight the energy was a lot stronger. The stakes were a lot higher, realizing this could be the seniors’ last game,” she said. “Everyone put everything they had to create this outcome.”

Mentality played a crucial role in the Wildcats’ turnaround.

“Tuesday’s loss was unfortunate for sure, but as a team we remained positive and made sure not to dwell on it, focusing on today,” McGaha asserted. “We faced Ferndale earlier this season and lost, so we came in today’s game with something to prove.”

Oak Harbor will host a Round 1 State Playoff Game at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12.