HOQUIAM — The Hoquiam High School boys soccer team put itself in a position to win a league title by scoring in quick bursts to upend the Elma Eagles 4-1 on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies (9-2 overall, 4-1 Evergreen 1A) failed to capitalize on some early opportunities due to some solid defense and some exceptional work in goal from Elma’s AJ Hernandez. But Hoquiam’s aggressiveness finally paid off when they broke the scoreless deadlock in the 28th minute with a goal from midfielder Edgar Estrada, who took advantage of some space in the box after being on the receiving end of a pass from Jose Juarez.
Not satisfied with the one-goal lead, the Grizzlies made it 2-0 when junior Andy Garcia scored after streaking down the wing and receiving a well-placed pass from Carlos Juarez in the 34th minute.
Though his team had a two-goal lead at halftime, Hoquiam head coach Fidel Sanchez thought his team’s passing showed room for improvement.
“It was a little slow in the first half. We weren’t moving the ball fast enough and we weren’t recognizing where the space was,” he said. “We were a little slow on decision making today but the second half was much better.”
Similar to the first half, the Grizzlies got another pair of goals in quick succession.
Jose Juarez scored on an assist from Connor Darras in the 59th minute and the Grizzlies made it 4-0 when Carlos Juarez put one in the back of the net in the 63rd minute.
Despite the disparity on the scoreboard, Elma head coach Carson Seaburg felt that his team had a fair amount off opportunities to score and wanted to see his team take more shots.
“We had four or five opportunities and we just chose not to shoot it. Hopefully, that will be better for us going forward,” he said. “They’re getting the ball into a dangerous position and looking to get a shot off.”
With the regular season coming to a close both teams have one match left to end the regular season on a high note.
Elma (5-9, 2-4) has been snake-bitten with injuries and has had to juggle the lineup after missing some key players.
Despite this season’s setbacks, Seaburg said his squad still plans to come out with intensity in its last game of the season at 6 p.m. Tuesday at La Center High School.
“Our plan is to win every single game we can every year but this year, due to injuries, we’ve had to play some younger guys,” he said. “We have some young players who are still learning the game and hopefully that’ll benefit us in the next couple of years to come.”
While Elma looks to start developing its core of young players for the future, Hoquiam is hoping this year’s roster can grab a league title.
The Grizzlies will have an opportunity to do so when they host Forks at 5 p.m. on Thursday in a matchup between the top two teams in the Evergreen 1A standings.
Sanchez is expecting a competitive game against one of the league’s best teams and plans to get off to a quicker start when the league title is on the line.
“We’re on an offensive team. We can score and we can move forward but we were too slow getting that attack going until the second half,” he said. “We have to get that going faster next time.”
