HILLSBORO — The clock struck triple zeros and the scoreboard read: Wilsonville 4, Bend High 1.

A loss in the Class 5A state championship match might seem like the end of a journey, but for the seventh-seeded Bend High girls soccer team, Saturday’s match at Hillsboro Stadium felt more like the start of one.

“It was so much fun to be here and we put up a good fight, we just let a few chances go through,” said sophomore forward Shea Manfredi, who scored a goal and was named Bend’s Player of the Match. “Wilsonville was a strong team, but we will be back here and make the best of it. It was a great opportunity for us.”

“I told the referee to save my seat,” added Bend coach Scott Sagar. “We will be back.”

Against the three-time defending state champions and fifth-seeded Wildcats, the Lava Bears rolled out a young starting lineup with Jacquie Flores the only senior to start or see the field. Three freshmen and two sophomores started. Two more freshmen and two more sophomores saw action off the bench.

The bulk of the team that tapped into some magic during the postseason, knocking off two higher-seeded teams to reach the championship match, will be back again next season, hoping for a different outcome.

“On the field, it was pure education,” Sagar said. “There was so much education here today. The education also came during the postseason when we discovered that we can go toe-to-toe with the best. That education will transfer into the next field, the next game and into the next season.”

The Wildcats (14-5 overall) struck first in the fourth minute when Camryn Schaan scored to give them an early advantage. In the 12th minute, Kate Kleinke scored off an assist from Schaan to give Wilsonville a 2-0 lead, which it would hold through the first half.

The Lava Bears (12-5-1) witnessed first-hand that a two-goal lead in the postseason can evaporate quickly. In their first-round win over La Salle, Bend had a 2-0 lead in the second half, but two La Salle goals were scored in a matter of minutes, forcing the Lava Bears to win in overtime to advance.

“We knew that at any minute two more goals could be scored,” Sagar said. “They just weren’t our goals.”

Thirteen seconds into the second half, the Wildcats struck again. Tegan Waters scored from the top of the box to build a commanding 3-0 lead. In the 52nd minute, Schaan, who was named Wilsonville’s Player of the Match, scored her second goal to put the game away with a 4-0 lead.

In the 76th minute, the Lava Bears made sure it would not be a shutout. Manfredi launched a long goal from outside of the 18-yard box to put Bend on the scoreboard.

“I knew our team could get opportunities to score,” Manfredi said. “It just felt great to have a number on the scoreboard for us that wasn’t a zero.”

The Lava Bears might not have claimed the blue, first-place trophy they were seeking on Saturday. But Manfredi believes the experience will pay dividends for the team moving forward.

“I think it was great for us to get this experience going so early for our young players,” Manfredi said. “Knowing that we have two or three more years to try and come back here with experience. None of us had been to the finals before. It’ll prepare us for the upcoming years and we will be ready to do it again and have a better outcome.”