Decatur girls soccer jumps to undefeated start after beating Hornets

Decatur High School football has gotten a lot of attention and praise for its hot start this season, but they aren’t the only hot Gators team in the fall.

The Gator girls soccer team is also off to a hot start of their own, winning its third straight game to open up the 2024 soccer season.

Since 2014, the Gators have never started 3-0, and the trail runs cold after 2014 for the Gators. So any Decatur girls soccer historians are welcome to let the Mirror know the last time Decatur soccer started the year 3-0.

“I see a lot of growth from the past years to this year…I feel like this year we have really good chemistry,” senior Vanessa Garcia said.

The Gators defeated Enumclaw 2-1 on Sept. 16 at Federal Way Memorial Field. Besides a late goal from the Hornets, Decatur played in front and with confidence for the majority of the game.

“A lot of them showed a lot of grit and they want to stay on top. … They showed up. It was fun to watch,” said Manager Sean Davis.

One player who exemplified that confidence was sophomore Kaihea Tuifua. The Gators have been blowing teams out as of late, scoring 14 goals in their last two games. Tuifua had played a large part in that.

“There is a lot of growth not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. She has a lot of potential in her future. … She is very competitive and a great player. She is also becoming more of a leader,” Davis said.

Tuifua was rewarded for her high work rate in the first half with a breakaway chance at goal. She beat the keeper to her left and gave Decatur a 1-0 lead.

The 1-0 lead stayed intact for the entire first half with Enumclaw creating a few chances periodically. But the Decatur goalkeeper, Madison Bell, made a couple of huge saves for the Gators. Bell played the first half while Sophie Walker played the second. Both impacted the game heavily for the Gators.

“Both goalies played outstanding. They have improved a lot over one year. It is hard to just play one all game because they compete every day in training and make themselves better. … They both made some great saves in throughout the game and showed how hard they have worked in the offseason,” Davis said.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first half. Both sides fighting for possession. Decatur’s midfielders were finding lots of opportunities to play Tuifua through, but were just missing the final quality of pass.

In the 64th minute ,the Gators were awarded a free kick. In Davis’s mind, there was no hesitation on who should take it: “Vanessa has become a really big leader since last year. That spot where she hit it is her spot,” he said.

Vanessa Garcia stepped up and placed it just outside the Hornet keeper’s outstretched arms for a goal.

“I felt like it was going out or going to hit the post. But it went in, so that’s good,” said Garcia.

With Decatur now leading 2-0, the Gators were in a much more comfortable position and were able to close out the Hornets with confidence.

“Scoring that second goal kind of made them put their heads down,” Garcia said.

The Gators have eight seniors this year. A program that didn’t have much success just missed the postseason last year, but has the playoffs in their sights this season.

“A lot of these seniors, when I came in, it was hard. We had like 14 players at tryouts,” Davis said.

“A lot of one-win seasons, these seniors have been through it all. They deserve what is going on right now,” he added.

On the final kick of the game, Enumclaw had a corner kick, and Emma Henshaw was able to head it into the back of the net. But it was too little too late for the Hornets as Decatur advanced to 3-0 on the season.

“They are playing with a lot of confidence. But I keep telling them one game at a time… Playing every team twice, it is hard to beat everyone twice… They are buying in. They trust in me as much as I trust in them,” Davis said.