On a goal from senior Cassidy Nangle with 20 minutes left, Liberty beat Columbia River 2-1 Wednesday night in the opening round of the 3A state tournament.

After the win, the Patriots (16-1) considered themselves lucky to get away with the victory.

“We just didn’t play our best game tonight,” said Liberty coach Jamie Giger. “We haven’t played for a week and a half so of course you’ve got to kick the dust off.”

Liberty did get off to a quick start when Kiana Hafferty scored less than a minute into the game on an assist by Nangle.

“I think it was exciting to come out and score that first goal,” Giger said. “Putting one in the back of the net in the first couple of minutes is always nice.”

Columbia River came back with a goal of its own four minutes into the second half to tie the game. The Patriots threatened time and time again in the half, Hafferty had a shot go off the top bar and a Nangle header off a Kailiana Johnson cross was just high, but couldn’t quite get the advantage.

Nangle finally broke the tie when she darted down the middle of the field, outran the Columbia River defense and nailed a shot.

Nangle now has 14 goals on the season, while Hafferty has 10. It’s the soccer team’s first state tournament win since 2001.

Liberty will move on to face the winner of Everett and Decatur at home Saturday night.