After a second place finish in their first season of 3A soccer, the Enumclaw Hornets girls soccer team had their first test of the 2025 season. The Hornets fell 4-3 to the 2024 NPSL champion Decatur Gators on Sept. 10 at Pete’s Pool.

Last year, in this very fixture the Hornets were able to hand Decatur their only loss in league play. But this time around the Gators had a bit too much to handle offensively and handed the Hornets their first loss of the season.

“It was just unfortunate for us. They scored some banger goals, we got to tip our hat and that’s all we can do,” Head Coach Shawn Tobius said.

Enumclaw did throw the first punch as inside the first 10-minutes, Sutton Kelsey went full speed down the right side of the field and scored an impressive tight angle goal to get the Hornets on the board. Just eight minutes in, the Hornets took the lead.

Kelsey is a fierce attacker for Tobius and can make game altering plays for Enumclaw. Tobius wants to make it a point of emphasis with his players to try and get her the ball as much as possible.

“If we can find her the ball a little bit more, like what Decatur does with number 3 (Kaihea Tuifua). It gives us a spark, if we can kinda find Sut and build off her. She has great vision, good touch and work ethic and all that kind of stuff you want in a player,” Tobius said. “We just gotta make sure we use her capabilities and capitolize.”

After Decatur leveled and even took the lead in the first half, a second goal came from an unlikely source.

Pressing before halftime, Enumclaw was searching for an equalizer and found it after a ball bounced around off Decatur and Enumclaw players. Sophomore defender Bristal Markus kicked a ball from 35-yards away from goal and it fell perfectly out of reach of the Decatur goalkeeper’s reach.

The Hornets and Gators went into the locker room all level at 2-2 but the team that came out was a different team than the one that went in.

Decatur roared to a 4-2 lead by the 64th minute of the game and looked like they were going to be the team to leave with all three points.

But in the waning moments of regulation, Kelsey found space down the right side as she had 71 minutes earlier and scored almost an identical goal. The late fight and push to try and grab a point was a promising sign this early in the season.

“I think we worked hard in a sense and didn’t give up which was the biggest thing you want to see. We were down two goals with 10-15 minutes to go, for us to keep on fighting and working hard was good,” Tobius said.

Enumclaw are now in a bit of a slump early in the season, a draw against Kentlake and now a lost against Decatur is not a positive way to begin the season.

“We just gotta make sure that we are seeing it thought. I think they believe we are better than what we showed today. I just want them to keep on working, that is the biggest thing. Keep on reiterating that we are okay, it’s two games and it’s early. There are always going to be set backs, how do we respond? That’s the biggest difference,” said Tobius.

Enumclaw is back in action on Sept. 12 as they host Federal Way and search for their first NPSL win of the season.

Brooke Flatness looks to pass the ball against Decatur. Ben Ray / The Herald

Madison Holden fights for the ball against a Decatur player. Ben Ray / The Herald