Oak Harbor varsity girls soccer dominated at home this week.

Senior midfielders Maddie Mays scored seven goals and Mia McGaha scored once in the Wildcats’ decisive 8-3 win over the Mountain View Mighty Thunder Wednesday night at home. Senior forward Teaghan Irvin, freshman forward/midfielder Jaquelin Lopez Martinez and senior defender Nevaeh Irvin scored for the visitors.

Wednesday’s game was the Wildcats’ first of the 3A State Tournament. Emerging victorious pits Oak Harbor against the Gig Harbor Tides at 5 p.m. on Friday at Peninsula High School’s Roy Anderson Field; the game is after press-time.

Mays’ performance broke the Oak Harbor High School record for most goals scored in a single game, according to the school yearbook staff, giving her 15 goals in five games this postseason.

“I’ve had games where I score a lot, but I was doing it for the home crowd, I was doing it for my team, and I just wanted to give it all,” she said.

McGaha triggered the offensive onslaught with the game’s first goal in the 22nd, capitalizing on an empty net after a failed save attempt by the Mighty Thunder’s goalkeeper.

A free kick began the scoring sequence of Mays’ first goal, in the 24th. She scored a minute later to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead before allowing Mountain View’s first goal.

Several of Oak Harbor’s goals resembled one another in that Wildcat players drew the goalkeeper out of the net and, in some cases, fought for a shot when the goalkeeper’s possession was contested. Mays and head coach Mike Lonborg attributed this to weakness in the opposing defense, rather than in net.

“Goalie came out when she was supposed to,” Lonborg said. “But when you’re going one-on-one, then the goalie’s probably going to lose the majority of the time.”

Mays scored in the 30th, 34th and 40th, giving the Wildcats a 6-1 lead before halftime. She notched two more goals in the second half, to a respectable crowd’s raucous approval. Mountain View scored twice in the second half as well, but could not surmount its five-goal deficit.

His team’s outpouring of offense surprised Lonborg. Mays explained that undergoing a mid-season scoring “slump” taught the Wildcats how to persist on the attack, even when offense is hard to come by.

“We just need to be confident with ourselves,” she explained. “And after we get that first goal, we have a rhythm that keeps us going throughout the game.”

The Gig Harbor Tides pose a considerable challenge, but one the Wildcats are eager to confront. A loss means an end to their season, but a win means knocking the first-seed out of the tournament.

“I’m sure we’re going to be nervous, and we can’t let that get to us,” Mays said. “I know for myself, personally, I’m gonna give it my all, I’m going to encourage my team to do the same.”

Lonborg emphasized execution’s importance in advancing beyond round two.

“A very, very talented team,” the head coach said of Friday’s competition. “The bottom line is, we have to come out and play at our top level to compete. If we do that, then we’ll be competitive, but it’s an uphill battle for sure.”

Photo by Levi Evans, Oak Harbor High School Yearbook. Charlotte Lang, left, and Michelle Nino, right, played in what began a close, high-intensity game, and ended a dominant win for the home team.

Photo by Matthew Selsor, Oak Harbor High School Yearbook. Wednesday’s win was cause for celebration.

Photo by Levi Evans, Oak Harbor High School Yearbook. Wildcat goalkeeper Eden Wilcox has played a crucial role for Oak Harbor this postseason.

Photo by Levi Evans, Oak Harbor High School Yearbook. Calleigh Boyer readies to send the ball down the field.