Hoquiam prevails in penalty kick shootout over Montesano, 1-1 (6-5)

Hoquiam entered Thursday’s District IV 1A boys soccer semifinal match with rival Montesano with two goals — avoid a deficit and stay away from the penalty kick shootout. The Grizzlies failed at both, but still prevailed.

Montesano, in search of its first-ever state tournament berth in boys soccer, took a 1-0 lead on a Hoquiam own goal. The Grizzlies responded with the tying goal five minutes later, then converted all six penalty kicks for a 1-1 (6-5) victory at rain-soaked Stewart Field.

For Hoquiam (11-5), the victory clinches its fourth state tournament berth in five seasons and a spot in Saturday’s district championship game against Toledo-Winlock United at 2 p.m. at King’s Way Christian in Vancouver.

For Montesano (7-10-2), its journey isn’t over. At noon on Saturday, the Bulldogs will take on White Salmon in a winner-to-state, loser-out contest at King’s Way Christian in Vancouver.

“Fighting back, Montesano has only allowed six goals in league play and that was one of my worries — how do you score against a team that just doesn’t allow you to score,” HHS head coach Fidel Sanchez said. “It is a battle to get to the state tournament and it is always a reward. It is always nice to get there, because it is never guaranteed. (Montesano) was one goal away from getting there over us here. Getting to the state tournament is a great experience for everyone in the program and for the school.”

“As soon as we got the goal, they began pressing,” Montesano head coach Rick Denholm said. “We had a couple of more chances inside the box, but their keeper did a very good job. It was a typical Montesano-Hoquiam game — two very good defensive teams who’ll grind you. It is one of those games where it is disappointing one of us had to lose.”

Hoquiam swept the regular-season series with Montesano, winning 1-0 and 2-1. This contest was just like the previous two — cagey, defensive and tightly played, especially considering the stakes on the game.

After a defensive first half and a 20-minute span that saw both teams with one good chance each to open the scoring, Montesano struck in the 64th minute. On a free kick 25 yards from goal, the Bulldogs crowded the penalty area.

The ball came in off the three-man Grizzly wall, sending a scrum of players kicking for the ball in front of Hoquiam goalkeeper Johnny Smith. In the melee, Nicolai Vikkelsoe got a kick onto the ball and had it deflect off a Hoquiam defender into the net for the own goal, a 1-0 lead.

Hoquiam responded quickly. Pressing Montesano, which sent players back on defense to try and hold back the attack, the Grizzlies pushed for the tying goal. It came five minutes later.

After a long clearance, Hoquiam’s Naz Mazariegos got a run down the right side and sent a perfectly weighted low cross to Juve Perez, who was waiting 16 yards from goal. Perez one-touched the ball and beat goalkeeper Waymn Thoemmes for the tying goal.

Neither team could muster a chance to win the match in regulation, but did create one chance each in overtime before the penalty kick shootout. Montesano advanced into Thursday’s match with a 7-6 shootout win over La Center on Tuesday, giving it a bit of a momentum edge going in.

The required five shots from both teams went to form — Hoquiam’s Connor Darras, Carlos Juarez, Tigre Falla, Andy Garcia and Juve Perez and Montesano’s Luis Muro, Vikkelsoe, Riccardo Marangon, Ben Lopez and Michael Malpass all converted.

On the sixth shot, Montesano’s Kyle Cox stepped up for the kick. After a stutter step, his kick hit the crossbar and bounced away. Hoquiam’s Parker McCormick then stepped up and drove the ball home to ignite a large Grizzly celebration.

“We didn’t want to go into PKs, because it is a flip of the coin,” Sanchez said. “That’s what makes this game so rewarding. We did the things we didn’t want to do against Montesano and we fought back to win.”

“All of the kids did a great job; Kyle’s kick just missed,” Denholm said. “All of the kids were confidence and they scored against La Center. If someone makes a mistake in one of those shootouts, that’s it. We made a small mistake and it cost us the game. We’ll get to travel down for the (third-place) game and we’ll see what happens.”

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Hoquiam goalkeeper Johnny Smith smothers a ball before Montesano’s Connor Parkinson can make a shot on goal on Thursday.