After a week away from the pitch, Montesano wasted little time in making a mark in the district tournament.

The top-ranked Bulldogs scored less than 30 seconds into the game and shut down a ranked Seton Catholic team en route to a 3-0 victory in a 1A District 4 semifinal match on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

After winning the 1A Evergreen League and earning a first-round bye, Montesano (16-1 overall) took the field for the first time in a week and promptly got to work.

Junior forward and reigning two-time league MVP Mikayla Stanfield took the opening kick and moved the ball over to midfielder Vanna Prom.

Prom maneuvered to the left sideline and sent a pass forward to Stanfield, who broke down the left hash toward the Cougars back line.

Stanfield then sent a crossing pass toward the front of the Seton Catholic net, where trailing midfielder Bethanie Henderson got a foot on the ball and scored on the first possession of the contest, approximately 25 seconds in.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder Bethanie Henderson races downfield during the first half of the Bulldogs’ 3-0 victory over Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 Tournament semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 in Montesano.

“Every time you start fast, your confidence goes through the roof,” Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said of the early goal.

“I think it was a really good way to kick off the game,” Prom said. “It started our momentum and we just built it up from there.”

Monte would double its lead when Stanfield weaved her way through multiple defenders and shot from 16-yards out. The ball ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced high off the ground in front of the Cougars net.

With defenders frantically buzzing around her, Monte senior forward Lilly Causey patiently waited for the right moment to strike, timing a header into the net for a 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano forward Mikayla Stanfield (10) takes a shot during the first half of the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win over Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 Tournament semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 in Montesano. Stanfield’s shot bounced off the crossbar and led to a header goal by teammate Lilly Causey.

“I followed the ball, it hit the cross bar and was up in the air,” said Causey, noting that an attempt to get her foot to the ball would have been too risky. “I knew that if I touched it too soon, I would’ve missed my opportunity. So I tried to hit it in with my head and there were defenders all around me. That was stressful but we needed that goal.”

The goal gave Montesano some much-needed insurance in the Bulldogs’ first pressure-packed game since defeating Elma for the league championship on penalty kicks two weeks prior.

“I was really excited and a little bit surprised because I’ve never (scored on) a header before,” Causey said. “It was a fun experience.”

Leading 2-0 after halftime, Montesano’s midfielders and back line worked flawlessly in tandem to limit any Cougars scoring chances.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Kennedy Campbell (9) competes with Seton Catholic’s Sofia Aragon during the Bulldogs’ 3-0 victory over Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 Tournament semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 in Montesano.

Seton Catholic (13-4) nearly scored in the second half when an interior pass in the Bulldogs final third led to a shot from inside the Monte goalie box, but the shot sailed wide of the far post to keep the score at 2-0.

That was as close as the Cougars would get as they couldn’t solve the puzzle of Montesano’s team defensive scheme.

“I think we did a good job scheming off the ball,” Prom said. “I think that is something that is really important. … People in the stands don’t really notice it. … In practice we’ve been stressing to move off the ball, trying to find space, not crowding and I think we did a really good job reading each other and finding those passes that we needed to.”

“We had to pay attention to (Seton Catholic senior midfielder) Anna Mooney,” Sanchez said. “She is a really good forward and has been scoring at will for them. So we had to pay attention to her and make sure she was not getting loose and Vanna did an excellent job not letting her loose. We shut them down because that is their offense. We watched them on film and said, ‘If we can take care of her, we’re going to be fine.’ And Vanna did exactly what we wanted her to do.”

Causey put the finishing touches on the victory when she knocked in a ball that was pinballed around the Cougars net after a corner kick to the far post by Montesano midfielder Belle Estrada in the 69th minute.

Montesano outshot Seton Catholic 8-3, with Bulldogs starting defenders Hannah Bruland, Liz York, Dekotah Parks and holding midfielder Addi Kersker helping junior keeper Riley Timmons to a clean sheet, needing to make just one save in the contest.

The win sends Montesano to the state tournament for the second consecutive season.

The Bulldogs placed fourth as the newbies in state competition last year in the program’s first run into the final four.

Montesano has higher hopes this season.

“It just feels really great,” Prom said of advancing to state once again. “As a team we work really hard in practice, making all the runs and working together as a team. … I feel like this game, we did a really good job playing as a team and not as individuals.”

“Last year, state was really big for us because it never happened before,” Causey said. “At the beginning of the season, we wanted to get back there. … Honestly, I think we’ve been working harder as a team and connecting more as a team. State is a really big opportunity for us and going there again would be really nice.”

“It’s hard for us to beat a good team again and get to state,” said Sanchez, noting his Bulldogs defeated Seton Catholic 2-0 on Sept. 15. “That’s the pressure we feel. The No. 1 team in the state, according to the RPI, and we have to play to get in. That’s what the pressure means and the girls did a great job with that.”

Monte now moves on to its eighth-straight appearance in the 1A District 4 championship game and will seek its second district title when it faces Elma — which upset La Center 3-2 on Thursday — in a game scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday in Tenino.

The Bulldogs defeated Elma in two close games this season, 2-1 on Oct. 4 in Montesano and on penalty kicks on Oct. 20 in Elma with the league title on the line.

Seton Catholic 0 0 — 0

Montesano 2 1 — 3

Scoring

First half — 1, Montesano, Henderson (Stanfield), 1st minute. 2, Montesano, Causey, 32nd minute.

Second half — 3, Montesano, Causey, 69th minute.