Facing the largest deficit they have all season, a furious late-game rally from the Montesano Bulldogs came up short in a 3-2 loss to the Tenino Beavers on Thursday in Montesano.

In a game that carried major implications for seeding in a planned one-week postseason tournament, the Bulldogs fell behind early and found themselves in an unfamiliar situation — playing catch-up.

Tenino (7-1 overall, 6-1 1A Evergreen) got on the board in the sixth minute, when forward Brieanna Dell pounced on a ball that got through the Monte defense and tucked a shot inside the far post to give Tenino the early lead.

The Beavers would take a 2-0 lead three minutes later, when midfielder Grace Vestal scored off a cross in the goal box.

Montesano (5-2, 5-1) appeared to have cut the lead in half, when senior midfielder Brooke Streeter found some space in the middle and ripped a shot past Tenino keeper Trinity Tafoya in the 27th minute, but an offside call negated the play, keeping Monte at a two-goal deficit.

A few minutes later, Dell sent a corner kick toward the Bulldogs’ far post. The ball deflected off several players and crossed the line for a Monte own-goal, giving Tenino a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the half.

“We saw them do the same thing to us that we did to them at their place,” said Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez, referencing the Bulldogs’ dominant 3-0 win on Tuesday in Tenino. “The same exact thing we did to them, they did to us here. The only disapointment in that was we knew they were going to be coming back at us, and our girls should have known that. Mentally, we told them to be ready for a fight. I’ve never seen a team at Montesano go down 3-0 within 25 minutes. I thought ‘What the heck is going on?’ That was hard to overcome.”

Vestal dribble photo

The Montesano coaching staff was sure to let the Bulldogs know exactly that at halftime. In an attempt to correct what Monte coaches perceived was a “lack of effort” by the Bulldogs in the first half, they questioned the team’s heart and mental toughness in a fiery yet inspirational halftime meeting.

“To beat a team like (Tenino), you have to play with intensity on every single play,” Sanchez told his team. “They’re good, really good. So are you, but you’re not showing it.”

The coaching staff’s tough-love approach seemed to work early in the second half, but failed to produce results on the scoreboard. Monte held more time of possession through the midfield, reduced the number of Tenino open runs and offensive opportunities, and started to find success with runs down the wings as Tenino focused on bottling up the distributive play of Monte standout midfielder Brooke Streeter. But it was seemingly all for naught, as Monte was still held scoreless with less than 15 minutes left to play.

That’s when Montesano’s Mikayla Stanfield decided it was time to make her mark on the game.

The Bulldogs’ tall, quick-footed freshman winger — who began to find cracks in the Beavers’ defense that led to second-half scoring chances — got past her defender with a nifty move to the boundary, cut back inside, then ripped a left-footed shot to the top corner of the far post for an impressive goal that brought life to the Monte sideline.

Just two minutes later, Stanfield was at it again. Penetrating through multiple Tenino defenders, Stanfield got free and sent a cross toward the Beavers goal box. Monte’s Jaiden Morrison converted the pass, cutting the Tenino lead to 3-2 in the 69th minute and causing a roar from the Monte crowd.

Montesano continued to put the pressure on and nearly tied the game in extra time. In the 82nd minute, a long lob pass was sent into the Tenino half of the field on a counter-attack. Morrison outran two Tenino defenders to the ball and chipped a shot that beat Tafoya but missed approximately two feet wide of the Tenino goal.

As it turned out, that would be the Bulldogs’ best chance at knotting things up as the final whistle blew less than two minutes later, giving Tenino the 3-2 victory.

Montesano’s Zoee Lisherness, right, makes a pass while being defended by Tenino’s Ashley Schow during Thursday’s game in Montesano. (Ryan Sparks | The Daily World)

“Huge second half on our part. … Mikayla Stanfield provided the spark we needed. … What a comeback to go from one end of the spectrum to the other in a quick manner. I’m halfway disapointed at how we started, but proud of how we ended,” Sanchez said.

Montesano’s loss means that if both teams win out, they will be co-champions of the 1A Evergreen League, but the two second-half goals by the Bulldogs mean Monte — based on head-to-head goal differential — will earn the No. 1 league seed heading into a planned one-week postseason tournament involving the Evergreen and Trico leagues.

“That’s all we wanted to accomplish tonight, was get that No. 1 seed,” Sanchez said. “I would have been upset if it stayed 3-0. But I’m proud of them. They put themselves in a really bad situation, but showed they could fight back.”

Elma 2, Hoquiam 1

Elma battled the elements to emerge with a 2-1 victory over host Hoquiam on Thursday at Olympic Stadium.

The Eagles (2-5, 2-4 1A Evergreen) opened the scoring when junior forward Chloe Clark scored off a rebound in the 16th minute.

Elma took a 2-0 lead just after half when sophomore forward Grace Spencer scored on a hard, low shot from approximately 20-yards out.

PHOTO BY BEN WINKELMAN Elma’s Harlee Nelson (13) and Hoquiam’s Alyssa Perry (12) battle for possession during the Eagles’ 2-1 victory on Thursday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam. Perry scored the Grizzlies’ lone goal in the 46th minute.

Hoquiam (1-7, 0-7) responded two minutes later. After a deep shot was sent in and pin-balled around in front of the Elma net, Grizzly senior midfielder Alyssa Perry found the loose ball and sent it to the back of the net, cutting the Eagles’ lead in half at 2-1 in the 46th minute.

But Hoquiam would get no closer as multiple chances late in the game were off-target, and an apparent game-tying goal was disallowed due to an offside call.

Hoquiam celebrated six seniors on Senior Night as Sadie Carlyle, Emiley Elders, Perry, Emily Daniels, Tauni Hilliard and Kylie Bell were all honored on Thursday.