In its quest for a second-consecutive district championship, Montesano beat La Center in a first-round playoff game as we review Tuesday’s boys soccer district-playoff tournaments.

BOYS PREP SOCCER

Montesano 3, La Center 2

It wasn’t easy, but Montesano solved La Center’s defensive puzzle for a 3-2 victory in the first round of the 1A District 4 Tournament on Tuesday in Montesano.

The Bulldogs (13-5 overall) held the majority of possession against the Wildcats (7-11) and outshot La Center 18-6 in the game.

But it didn’t do Monte any good early on as the Wildcats were first on the board with a goal in the seventh minute of play.

Montesano’s pressure paid off in the 25th minute, when junior forward Felix Romero sent a long throw-in toward the Wildcats penalty box. Romero’s throw bounced off a La Center defender’s head and over the outstretched arms of Cats keeper Logan Smith for an own goal, tying the game at 1-1.

Monte nearly took the lead in stoppage time when another Romero throw-in was deflected by Smith out in front of the Wildcats net. A shot then deflected off Smith’s hands and off the crossbar, keeping the score tied at the end of the first half.

After halftime, the Bulldogs continued to sustain pressure inside the La Center final third, but once again saw the Wildcats gain the upper hand.

Monte, which had been frustrated by La Center’s defensive shell, had those frustrations increase when a penalty kick by midfielder Jio Torres was saved by Smith as the Bulldogs missed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 55th minute.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder Jio Torres (10) sends the ball forward to Felix Romero (15) while defended by La Center’s Matteo Perez during a 3-2 win in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Tuesday in Montesano.

Five minutes later, Wildcats midfielder Logan Rainey gained possession and caught Montesano flat-footed, maneuvering through multiple Bulldogs defenders. Rainey slotted a shot past charging Monte keeper Cohen Andersen as La Center regained the lead in the 60th minute.

But rather than let their frustrations get the best of them, the Bulldogs persevered.

Continuing to apply pressure in the second half, Monte midfielder Cris Tobar drove down the wing and sent a cross toward the La Center penalty area. Romero stretched to get his foot on the ball but just missed. But making a backside-run on the play, Monte sophomore midfielder Andy Melendez connected with the pass for a one-time shot that beat Smith into the upper corner of the net to tie the game at 2-2 in the 62nd minute.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder Andrew Melendez, left, celebrates with defenders Spencer Lovell and James Busche (22) after scoring a goal in the second half of a 3-2 win over La Center in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Tuesday in Montesano.

“A message on the board today was: Trust everyone and include everybody. For him to get a goal in this big of a game was really huge for us,” Romero said of Melendez’s goal. “For him to be there at the right time was really good to see.”

Monte nearly completed the comeback when Romero blistered a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that deflected off Smith’s hands, off the crossbar and out with 10 minutes left to play.

In the final minutes of the game and with Monte placing another forward at the top of the offense, Romero was pushed from behind and fell to the ground on a ball played into the Wildcats 18, giving Monte another chance at a penalty kick.

Romero stepped to the spot sent a hard shot to the right side of the net. Smith guessed and dove in the opposite direction. The ball skipped into the net for what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 79th minute.

“I was just thinking about my spot,” Romero said of his thoughts before the pressure-packed conversion. “That’s a good team over there. We knew they were going to try to park the bus on us and put some defenders back there and we knew we had to get around that somehow. It was just a relief to finally get that one in.”

Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said he expected La Center to bottleneck in its defensive zone and addressed his team’s frustrations at the break.

“At halftime we said, ‘Hey, relax. You guys are starting to panic right now and we can’t do that. Just stay the course. It’s a long game. They are going to defend for 40 more minutes and we are going to get some goals.’ And we did,” he said. “That’s the way they play. They drop everybody and defend. … We got the win and advanced and that’s all that matters at this time of year. … It shows a lot of character that we can struggle and still get it done.”

With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the 1A District 4 semifinals against Columbia (White Salmon) on Thursday in Montesano (time to be determined).

La Center 1 1 – 2

Montesano 1 2 – 3

Scoring

First half – 1, La Center, 7th minute. 2, Montesano, own goal (Romero), 25th minute.

Second half – 3, La Center, Rainey, 60th minute. 4, Montesano, Melendez (Tobar), 62nd minute. 5, Montesano, Romero, 79th minute.

Other games

1A District 4 Tournament

King’s Way Christian 4, Raymond-South Bend 1

Columbia (White Salmon) 2, Elma 0

Seton Catholic 3, Eatonville 0

2A District 4 Tournament

Hockinson 2, Aberdeen 0 (Aberdeen eliminated)

Upcoming games

(subject to change, time to be determined)

La Center at Elma, Thursday

Eatonville at Raymond-South Bend, Thursday