For the third time in four years, the Terrace men’s soccer team is headed to the state tournament. The eighth seeded Hawks knocked off the 11th seeded Sammamish Totems 2-0 last Thursday, May 10.

Terrace dominated from the match from the beginning. Just ten minutes into the game, senior midfielder Juan Lopez found the ball in the box, danced around Sammamish goalkeeper Travis Fenedick, and slotted it home for the 1-0 lead.

For the next 25 minutes the game was back and forth, as Sammamish tested  Terrace goalkeeper Ben Leonard. Fortunately for Terrace, the senior was on fire, scoring two major saves on a rebound attempt.

In the 37th minute it was Lopez broke through yet again only to be taken out by Fenedick outside of the box. Despite calls from Terrace fans and players for a red card, Fenedick was only shown a yellow.

The ensuing free kick was wiped in by Terrace’s Andy Lee, but was parried by Fenedick. Terrace spilled the ball back into the box where Junior Eli Sather shot it home for the 2-0 lead going into half time.

The second half played out largely the same as the first. The Hawks ran rampant over the Totems, with a tight defense and frequent control over the ball, punctuated with a few saves from Leonard. Despite the Totems’ best effort, they found no success before the final whistle sealed the Hawks’ ticket back to state. “It’s a crazy feeling… I’m just so excited right now,” said Leonard.

Head coach George Dremousis continued with that praise after the match. “I’m proud of these kids. They battled back (all season long).”

The Hawks’ next match is Wednesday, May 15, vs Ellensburg at Ellensburg High School. Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m.