For the first time in the school’s still-short athletic history, the Bonney Lake High boys have advanced to the state soccer tournament.

The Panthers made the historic leap into the state Class 3A Sweet 16 with a Saturday evening triumph over the Yelm Tornadoes.

Playing in a driving rain at Auburn Memorial Stadium, Bonney Lake showed its dominance early. A three-goal first half set the tone for what turned out to be a 7-0 whitewashing.

The victory propelled Bonney Lake into the state field as the No. 3 seed from the West Central District. That meant a Tuesday night game for the Panthers (15-1-2 overall) against Lakeside High, a game slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.

If the Panthers were victorious Tuesday, they will play Saturday against the winner of an opening round clash between O’Dea and defending 3A champion Glacier Peak. The time and place of that quarterfinal-round game had not been announced at press time.

During Saturday’s rout of Yelm, Bonney Lake received goals from Austin Curtis and Bryant Maxey to take a 2-0 lead. J.D. Walter blasted the first of his two goals at the 37-minute mark to sent the Panthers into halftime with a 3-0 cushion.

If there was any doubt remaining, Bonney Lake erased it when Tim Knoles and Walter scored during the opening minutes of the second half. Brody Fitzsimmons and Colton Tracy added the team’s final tallies.