By Jacob Dimond
jake@yelmonline.com
Following a one-win season in 2023, the Yelm High School girls soccer team came out of the gates with an impressive 5-1 start to the 2024 season. Behind a mix of veteran experience and youth in the program, Tornados head coach Jay Dorhauer believes this season will be an incredibly competitive campaign for the team.
Yelm’s victories include an 8-0 win over Mount Tahoma on Sept. 10, a 3-0 victory over Shelton on Sept. 12, a 4-2 triumph over Adna on Sept. 17 and back-to-back shutout wins against Black Hills and Bethel on Sept. 19 and Sept. 24, respectively.
As of Sept. 30, the team’s only loss of the season occurred on Sept. 26 to Spanaway Lake, 1-0.
“We had four non-league games, and they were teams I knew we could compete with. I just wanted to schedule some games so the girls learn that they can win, they can play,” Dorhauer said. “The girls have totally exceeded my expectations of where I thought we would be at this point. It’s been a good start to the season.”
Dorhauer added that like any sport, confidence and momentum can do wonders for a program. He was unsure how to measure the team’s confidence or put it into words after a 5-1 start to the new season.
“Winning brings out a lot of things, including confidence, belief in yourself and your team. The vibes are great around the team,” Dorhauer said. “Winning or losing, it’s a snowball either way. The more you win, the more confident you get. Losing is the same way. You start losing a couple [games] and that creates momentum you don’t want to have.”
Already tallying four more wins than they did in 2023, Dorhauer pointed to several different aspects that have contributed to the program’s ability to turn the corner in 2024.
“We’ve got a couple people playing who weren’t able to play for the first few weeks last year,” Dorhauer said. “That’s Mariah Arnestad and Sage Rough. They were out the first couple weeks, and we were missing two of our top players that have a huge impact on the team.”
The coach added that senior Holly Dorhauer and sophomore Jada Katona have contributed significantly during the early season.
“They’re doing a great job leading the girls and setting an example of how to work. On game days, they just show up. Jada’s had four shutouts already,” Jay Dorhauer said. “Holly has 11 goals already in the first six games. They’re both playing really well.”
Dorhauer said that having Holly on the field is like having a coach on the pitch due to her ability to read the game well, know where people need to be and where the ball needs to go, and because she does a good job of directing traffic.
He’s also complimentary of the sophomore goalie Katona, who has pitched four shutouts from the box through six matchups this season.
“She’s only going to get better,” Dorhauer said. “She’s somebody that wants to work harder, wants to be out there for her team. She’s just scratching the surface of how good she can be.”
Dorhauer said three freshmen have cracked the team’s starting varsity lineup and lock down consistent time on the pitch. He said Addison Cunningham, Rylee Hamilton and Kinlee Cook lead a “really good” freshman class.
“I’ve been pushing them quite a bit. I talked to them the other day and said that it’s unfortunate that in your freshman year your learning curve is a lot steeper than most high school freshmen,” Dorhauer said. “When we get freshmen and they’re up on varsity, they’ve got a couple games to get with the program or they’re going to get left behind. They’ve answered the call. They’re doing really well, and that’s helped a ton.
“They’ve started every game. They’ve played almost every minute of every game,” Dorhauer continued. “They’ve really stepped up and filled some holes that we had, which I was worried about coming into the season. The freshmen have done a great job.”
The Tornados returned to action on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in a SPSL matchup against the Rogers Rams, but results of the contest were unavailable prior to press time.
Yelm will return home on Thursday, Oct. 3, to host SPSL opponent Olympia. The game will begin at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online at www.GoFan.co.
