CASHMERE — The Cashmere and Cascade girls soccer teams faced off twice during the regular season, each beating the other once, but Saturday, the Bulldogs won 3-1 in the Caribou Trail League foes’ 1A state quarterfinal meeting.

“In the second half we said, ‘We’ve been here before, and it’s time for our experienced players to step up,’ ” said Bulldogs coach Dennis Tronson, who guided the team to the state title game last year. “Our experience here was a real asset. We knew how tough this game was, and we got a little more urgent about what we were doing.”

The Kodiaks scored first in the seventh minute when Idy Stiegel-Ostrom struck the goal from 12 yards out on Maddy Tarton’s assist.

The game continued with a lot of back and forth action in the midfield with few chances for shots.

Lauren Johnson eventually went on to score Cashmere’s first goal on a combination play, but was blocked during a brief flurry of shots during the first half. In the second half Johnson was moved from midfield to forward to create more opportunities for her. Tasha Kowatsch assisted Johnson in scoring from 15 yards out.

“After we scored, there was a real momentum shift,” Tronson said. “Cascade was still aggressive. They were still moving well.”

Cashmere’s Jessica Bauer took the ball on an angle route across the top of the box when two Cascade players took her out while defending her advance.

“She (Bauer) was maybe a half step ahead, and if they didn’t take her out, she was one-on-one with the goalkeeper,” Tronson said.

But that play earned Cashmere a penalty kick, and Tronson put in Tianna Helm, who had been successful before against the Cascade goalkeeper.

Usually, if a player has faced another in a similar shot situation, Tronson will change it up when selecting a shooter. But he went with his gut in selecting Helm, who faced Kodiaks goalkeeper Anika Enloe five weeks ago in a shootout.

Helm’s scoring shot made the game 2-1. With 10 minutes left, Lupita Tejada seized an opportunity to assist Johnson with another score.

“Up 3-1 with 10 minutes to go, we rotated in a lot of other players,” Tronson said. “Keep fresh legs in, keep the pressure up.”

Cashmere (15-3) faces Seattle Christian (19-0) at 4 p.m. Friday at Shoreline Stadium in a semifinal contest. Seattle Christian eliminated La Salle in a 2-1 shootout Saturday.