Boys Prep Soccer Roundup: Down a goal and a man, Elma rallies to advance to state

Published 1:30 am Monday, May 18, 2026

Elma and Raymond-South Bend wrapped up play in the 1A District Boys Soccer Tournament this past weekend.

~~~

1A DISTRICT 4 ELIMINATION GAME

Elma 2, Columbia-White Salmon 1

Down a man due to a red card, Elma scored two goals in the second half to earn a rousing 2-1 comeback victory over Columbia-White Salmon in the 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game on Saturday at Tenino High School.

The Eagles (15-3-2 overall) fell behind by a goal off a corner kick in the first half against the Bruins (14-5-1) then saw their fortunes take a turn for the worse when one of their leading scorers was sent off the pitch.

Early in the second half, Venegas got around his defender and lunged for a 50-50 ball against the Bruins goalkeeper. The two collided on the play and Venegas was immediately hit with a red card by the referee on a controversial call.

Venegas was sent off the field, leaving Elma a man down for the remainder of the match.

But with the odds stacked against them, the Eagles took flight.

A few minutes after the red card, Elma senior defender Matthew Wood drove a long free kick from midfield toward sophomore forward Jordan Kain, who collected the ball and scored to knot the game up in the 49th minute.

It would prove to be a turning point for the Eagles.

“You could almost feel at that moment that (CWS) was arguing with each other. I don’t think they saw that coming,” Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said. “Our guys just stayed the course.”

Later in the half, an Asher Spencer throw-in was received off the chest of standout junior midfielder Ivan Rodriguez, who was grabbed by the Bruins keeper and pulled down by the jersey to earn a penalty kick. Rodriguez buried the PK to put Elma up 2-1 in the 65th minute.

Elma nearly extended the lead when junior forward Bryan Torres stole the ball and kicked it over the Bruins keeper, who was off his line. But a Bruins defender sprinted back to the goal line to get a foot on the ball, deflecting it off the crossbar and out to keep the game at 2-1.

As time was winding down, Columbia-White Salmon flooded numbers forward against a 10-man Eagles squad, but Elma goalkeeper Trey Yeager made a few key saves and the defense held to preserve the win, eliminating the Bruins and sending Elma to the state tournament.

“(CWS) flooded numbers forward, and playing with 10 guys it made it hard to release guys forward,” Seaberg said. “We had to kind of absorb them a little bit. … It was a great thing to see us not take that red card as we were out of it. They fought. … To rally against a team like CWS, with 10 guys on the field and score both our goals, shows the character this group has.”

Elma received a No. 10 seed in the 1A State Tournament and will play at No. 7 Royal on Friday (time to be determined), unfortunately without Venegas, one of the Eagles’ top goal-scorers this season.

“It’s always disappointing for someone like Manny, who has put so much work in,” Seaberg said of the controversial red card. “We’re going to miss him at least one game and we’ll see if we can advance beyond that and have him back with us.”

CWS 1 0 – 1

Elma 0 2 – 2

Scoring

First half – 1, CWS, 27th minute.

Second half – 2, Elma, Kain (Wood), 49th minute. 3, Elma, Rodriguez, 65th minute.

~~~

1A DISTRICT 4 CHAMPIONSHIP

King’s Way Christian 2, Raymond-South Bend 0

Raymond-South Bend lost a chance to hoist a trophy with a 2-0 loss to King’s Way Christian in the 1A District 4 Tournament championship game on Saturday at Tenino’s Beaver Stadium.

The Ravens (17-1-1) lost for the first time this season as the Knights (14-3-3) scored two goals in the second half, one each from seniors Mathues Soares and Ryland Richter.

Lu Ilunga assisted on both goals for KWC.

The Ravens had four shots on goal in suffering the shutout defeat, its second district-title loss in as many seasons.

No further information was provided for this game.

RSB earned a No. 5 seed in the 1A State Tournament and will host No. 12 Meridian in a second-round game on Friday (time to be determined).

KWC 0 2 – 2

RSB 0 0 – 0

Scoring

First half – none.

Second half – 1, KWC, Soares (Ilunga). 2, KWC, Richter (Ilunga).