Montesano’s recent struggles continued while Aberdeen, Elma and Hoquiam earned league victories as we review Tuesday’s boys prep soccer games.
~~~
BOYS PREP SOCCER
Rochester 1, Montesano 0
Montesano’s recent slump continued with a 1-0 loss to Rochester on Tuesday at Montesano High School.
Entering the game a half-game ahead of Rochester in the 1A Evergreen League, the Bulldogs (10-4 overall, 10-4 1A Evergreen) traded chances with the Warriors (10-4, 10-3) throughout first half, with midfielder Cris Tobar springing Monte forward Felix Romero and Brady Whipple down the wings for scoring opportunities while Rochester relied mostly on the counter-attack.
Whipple sent a nice cross to sophomore forward Fabian Torres in open space in the 25th minute, but Torres’ shot from inside the 18-yard box went over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless.
Monte had another great opportunity in the final 10 minutes of the first half when Romero sent one of his trademark long throw-ins toward the front of the Rochester net. The ball caused some commotion by pinballing around for a bit before Warriors keeper Ezra Aliff fell on the loose ball as the teams entered halftime in a scoreless tie.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Cris Tobar (10) attempts to head the ball during a 1-0 loss to Rochester on Tuesday in Montesano.
It wouldn’t stay that way for long as on the opening play of the second half, Rochester sent a long, bounding ball that Villanueva bounced off his chest, split several Montesano defenders, took a dribble to his right and ripped a hard shot just inside the far post for a goal one minute into the second half.
“We keep making the same mistakes on the back line and getting punished for it,” Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said. “I just don’t understand how one person can win the ball against three defenders. We talked about those mistakes in the pre-game, that when in doubt, just clear the ball out because that’s how we’ve got burned twice in the previous games that were very meaningful to us”
Monte controlled the pitch in the second half, gaining the majority of scoring chances that included several corner kicks and Romero long throw-ins deep inside Rochester territory.
The Bulldogs’ best chance in the second half came in the 72nd minute when Romero hit a hard shot from 30-yards out that short-hopped just a foot in front of the Warriors goal and skipped under Aliff. The ball hit the post and popped up along the goal line, but never went in as Rochester was able to clear the ball away from danger.
Monte would continue to pressure the rest of the way, but couldn’t net the equalizer to suffer their third league loss in its past four games.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Nolan Swenson (right) dribbles through the midfield during a 1-0 loss to Rochester on Tuesday at Montesano High School.
With the loss, Montesano falls a half-game behind Rochester for second place in the league standings with two games left on the schedule.
“We had such a great first half of the season. Now, we are nowhere the same team we were and that’s alarming because we have the same personnel and are playing the same teams,” Sanchez said. “It’s really puzzling right now to find a team that’s struggling to score and keep the other team out of the net. … We’re not getting beat by the opponent, we’re getting beat by ourselves.”
Sanchez went on to say that once a team is in the kind of slump his team currently finds itself in, it is hard to break out of it.
“We are our own enemy right now,” he said. “And once a team gets to that weird funk, it’s hard to come out of it. … Everything was lined up for us to beat (Rochester), and we just couldn’t get it done.”
The Bulldogs play at Ilwaco at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Rochester 0 1 – 1
Montesano 0 0 – 0
Scoring
First half – none.
Second half – 1, Rochester, Villanueva, 41st minute.
~~~
Aberdeen 2, Black Hills 1
Defense and some timely goals were once again the formula for an Aberdeen win.
On Tuesday it worked for a Bobcats 2-1 win over Black Hills at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (10-2, 7-1 2A Evergreen) honored seniors Oscar Leiva, Evan Sanchez, David Miramontes, Luis Campos, Nico Hay, Javier Lagunas, Angel Espinosa, Marc Avila, Leo Garcia and Elmer Torres on Senior Night with two second-half goals and allowed their first goal in the past three games to earn the win over the Wolves (4-8-2, 2-6).
In a game where Aberdeen was the aggressor from the opening minute of the game, the Bobcats had several point-blank shot either miss wide or were turned away by the Black Hills goalkeeper to keep the game scoreless through the first half.
But the Cats dialed it up a notch after talented senior forward Elmer Torres was injured after taking an elbow to the face early in the second half.
Aberdeen broke the scoreless tie when senior midfielder Leo Garcia sent a cross to junior midfielder Tyson Dunlap, who spun to his left and buried a shot from 12-yards out in the 48th minute.
Ten minutes later, senior forward Marc Avila ripped a shot that was blocked in front of the Black Hills net. Sophomore midfielder Gibran Garcia was there to put the rebound into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Aberdeen had a long shutout streak snapped when Black Hills scored a goal from 18-yards out in the 73rd minute.
But the Bobcats’ stout defense held the lead for the remainder of the game to secure the victory.
“Almost a carbon copy of our last match again Centralia. We were a little off connecting with teammates in the passing game and when we did combine effectively up front we just couldn’t finish many of the terrific chances we created,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said. “We are keeping teams in the game by not scoring enough. And once again good defense kept the opponent in check, for the most part.”
The Aberdeen victory sets up a first-place showdown against Tumwater when the two teams meet at 6 p.m. on Friday in Tumwater, likely with a league title on the line.
Aberdeen’s JV team won 2-0 on Tuesday, with Dylan Reyes and Nico Hay scoring goals for the Bobcats.
Black Hills 0 1 – 1
Aberdeen 0 2 – 2
Scoring
First half – none.
Second half – 1, Aberdeen, Dunlap (L. Garcia), 48th minute. 2, Aberdeen, Garcia, 58th minute. 3, Black Hills, 73rd minute.
~~~
Hoquiam 7, Chief Leschi 0
Hoquiam won for the fourth time in its past five games with a 7-0 victory over Chief Leschi on Tuesday in Puyallup.
The Grizzlies (7-7, 7-6 1A Evergreen) got two goals apiece from junior forward Santiago Martinez, sophomore midfielders Michael Garcia and J.B. Fabian in the victory over the Warriors (0-11, 0-11).
Fabian scored from a shot just outside the 18-yard box to open the scoring in the 21st minute followed nine minutes later by a goal from Garcia from inside the 18.
Leading 2-0 at the half, Hoquiam took a 3-0 lead when Martinez scored on a pass from Fabian in the 54th minute followed by Fabian’s second goal of the game just five minutes later.
Hoquiam scored three more goals in the span of six minutes when Gilbert Rodriguez scored on a penalty kick in the 61st minute followed by goals from Martinez and Garcia in the 64th and 66th minutes, respectively, to round out the scoring.
With the win, Hoquiam sits one game back of Elma for the all-important fourth and final 1A Evergreen League playoff spot with three games left to play.
Hoquiam hosts Forks at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Hoquiam 2 5 – 7
Chief Leschi 0 0 – 0
Scoring
First half – 1, Hoquiam, Fabian, 21st minute. 2, Hoquiam, M. Garcia, 30th minute.
Second half – 3, Hoquiam, S. Martinez (Fabian), 54th minute. 4, Hoquiam, Fabian, 59th minute. 5, Hoquiam, G. Rodriguez, 61st minute. 6, Hoquiam, S. Martinez, 64th minute. 7, Hoquiam, M. Garcia, 66th minute.
~~~
Elma 7, Tenino 0
Elma held its spot in the 1A Evergreen League’s fourth and final playoff spot with a 7-0 drubbing over Tenino on Tuesday in Elma.
The Eagles (8-5, 8-5 1A Evergreen) were led by scoring phenom Manny Venegas, who added four goals and an assist in his impressive freshman season.
Elma scored early and often, netting a goal by sophomore forward Luis Torres in the sixth minute followed by a goal by freshman Jordan Kain 10 minutes later.
Kain assisted Venegas for a goal in the 19th minute to stake the Eagles to a 3-0 lead with one quarter of game play elapsed.
Goals by sophomore midfielder Bryan Torres and Venegas put Elma up 5-0 by halftime.
Venegas scored twice more in the second half, on assists by Bryan Torres and Kain, to complete the 7-0 rout over the Beavers (0-12, 0-12).
“We’ve really been trying to be more creative offensively and trying to find ways to score more goals,” said Elma head coach Carson Seaberg, whose team managed a 1-0 win over Tenino in its first meeting on April 1. “Our movement and creativity was the best we’ve seen this year.”
With the win, Elma remains one game up on Hoquiam for the fourth playoff spot in the 1A Evergreen League.
The Eagles have to games left to play in the regular season, starting with first-place Raymond-South Bend at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Elma.
Tenino 0 0 – 0
Elma 5 2 – 7
Scoring
First half – 1, Elma, L. Torres (I. Torres), 6th minute. 2, Elma, Kain (L. Torres), 16th minute. 3, Elma, Venegas (Kain), 19th minute. 4, Elma, B. Torres (Venegas), 28th minute. 5, Elma, Venegas (L. Torres), 38th minute.
Second half – 6, Elma, Venegas (B. Torres), 52nd minute. 7, Elma, Venegas (Kain), 56th minute.
~~~
Other games
Raymond-South Bend 17, Ilwaco 0
