Women’s soccer trampled the Titans but slipped to the Penguins for third place in the West and a No. 3 seed in the NWAC regional tournament.

Last week was a strenuous one for Highline as they played matches on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Last Wednesday, the Lady T-birds shutout Tacoma with a box score of 3-0.

Highline had the upper hand throughout with 18 shots to Tacoma’s three. 

In the first half, Olivia Quinnett netted a goal in the 30th minute assisted by sophomore Elena Pinto. 

The second period panned out in a similar fashion. In the 71st minute, Kayla Ness scored a goal assisted by Zjada Baydass. Shortly after, Baydass tallied the third goal for Highline with an assist from Ashley Teofilo.

Highline continued to put their teammates into scoring position with three assists for the match. The Lady T-Birds currently stand second in the league’s team statistical category with a total of 34 assists.

On Saturday, No. 2 Highline traveled to No. 3 Clark to battle for second place in the division and a higher regional tournament seed. The Lady T-Birds suffered a tough 4-0 loss.

Highline made an uncharacteristic nine shots to Clark’s 21. According to the league’s team statistics, Highline averages 14.1 shots a game.

“I have thought Clark is a dangerous opponent the entire year. They do a great job of playing hard against us and really making us work for it. Long travel and not being mentally prepared to play as hard as was needed kind of hurt us,” said Head Coach Thomas Moore.

In the first period, Clark’s Kelli Huskic and Shalece Easley made three goals combined for the Penguins.

In the second, Highline continued to struggle on the offensive and defensive fronts with no goals made and only four shots. 

In the 67th minute, Clark’s Anna Neal weaved through Highline’s defense to make their fourth goal unassisted.

Highline Goalie Rylie Wood was met with 16 shots on goal and made a career-high 11 saves. Wood ranks third on the NWAC goalie leaderboards for goals against average with 0.38 a game.

Highline took the match as a good lesson moving into playoffs, said Moore.

After last week’s results, Highline placed third in the West division and are seeded third in the postseason tournament.

“We are the lowest seed entering the tournament, and I’m hoping that’s a good thing. It takes the pressure off us a little bit and allows us to just go play relaxed,” said Moore.

The ball gets rolling at the Starfire Field this week for the women’s soccer NWAC Regional Playoffs. The tournament is a single-elimination format.

On Wednesday, Highline played No. 2 in the North, Skagit Valley, with results unavailable at press time.

Highline is aiming to come out strong, put early pressure on the opponent and look for the first goal, said Moore.