Elma hosted Toledo in a home-opener on Saturday afternoon and the Eagles did not disappoint.
Elma scored 10 goals and held the Riverhawks without a shot in a 10-0 victory at Davis Field.
Leading the way for the Eagles (2-1 overall) were dynamic sophomores in midfielder Miley Seaberg and forward Beta Valentine and junior Aaleigha Weld — each of whom recorded a hat trick in the game.
Seaberg got things started for Elma in the first half, opening the scoring on a breakaway in the sixth minute.
But for several minutes after that, Elma seemed a step off in execution. The Eagles were called for offside on several downfield plays toward Toledo’s third as Elma kept attacking the Riverhawks’ high-pressure line.
When Elma stayed onside, a shot would sail wide or a non-optimal touch would allow the Toledo defense to recover.
Elma finally doubled its lead when junior Aaleigha Weld tapped in a rebound off a Valentine shot in the 24th minute.
The Eagles then found another gear, and the Riverhawks had no answer.
Just four minutes after Weld’s goal, Junior midfielder Eliza Sibbett collected a loose ball, drove to the right 45-angle and sent a hard, low shot that deflected off the hand of diving Toledo goal keeper Daphnie Bybee and into the far corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma midfielder Eliza Sibbett, left, passes the ball forward while defended by Toledo’s Ryah Stanley (14) and Quyn Norberg (12) during Elma’s 10-0 win on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 at Davis Field in Elma. Sibbett had one goal in the game.
Toward the end of the first half Elma’s team speed proved fruitful when Seaberg scored her second breakaway goal of the game with less than three minutes until halftime.
The first 15 minutes of the second half belonged to Valentine.
In the first minute of the half, Valentine outran the Toledo defense while chasing down a well-placed through pass from Seaberg. Valentine collected the ball and with a defender draped on her and ripped a right-footed blast for a 5-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Elma midfielder Valerie Echeverria — who was making high IQ plays with the ball to set up excellent scoring chances the entire first half — hustled in pursuit of the ball, won it near the Toledo goal line and sent a cross toward the front of the net.
Valentine found the other end of Echeverria’s pass for an easy tap-in goal and an 7-0 lead.
In the 52nd minute, Echeverria found Valentine in the middle of the Riverhawks 18-yard box. Valentine received the pass, turned and scored on a shot to the far post, giving her three straight goals and a hat trick.
A second goal by Weld on a calm, poised shot to the near post made it an 8-0 game and the junior winger scored her third of the game off an assist from Seaberg in the 75th minute.
Seaberg scored her third breakaway goal in the 76th minute for a hat trick and a 10-0 victory.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma midfielder Miley Seaberg, right, shoots during Elma’s 10-0 win on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 at Davis Field in Elma. Seaberg scored three goals and had two assists in the victory.
“We did really good and I’m proud of ourselves,” Valentine said, noting the difference in play for the Eagles from the first half to the second half. “I think our attitude (in the second half) became better. I don’t think we were really prepared for the game at the beginning and I just think we saw how good we were working together and our spirits got brought up and we were doing much better.”
“In a soccer match, you kind of have to adapt,” Elma head coach Evan Valentine said. “(Toledo) was playing a high line. So I was like, ‘Hey guys, what are they giving us? They’re playing a high line so that means there is space in behind.’ We just exploited how they were playing and I think that was the difference.”
Elma’s defense held the Riverhawks — which has eight of its 15 players on the roster listed as either freshman or eighth-graders — without a shot in the game.
Though a win against a winless 2B Toledo team is expected, Beta Valentine said Elma gained something from the victory.
“I think we’ll definitely be more confident coming off of this game and more confident in our ability to play,” she said.
Elma will host Rochester at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Toledo 0 0 — 0
Elma 4 6 – 10
Scoring
First half — 1, Elma, Seaberg, 6th minute. 2, Elma, Weld, 24th minute. 3, Elma, Sibbett, 28th minute. 4, Elma, Seaberg, 37th minute.
Second half — 5, Elma, Valentine (Seaberg), 41st minute. 6, Elma, Valentine (Echeverria), 44th minute. 7, Elma, Valentine (Echeverria), 52nd minute. 8, Elma, Weld. 9, Elma, Weld (Seaberg), 75th minute. 10, Elma, Seaberg, 76th minute.
Hoquiam 2, Onalaska 2
Hoquiam has played two games in the early season and doesn’t have a win, or a loss, to show for it.
The Grizzlies and Onalaska played to a 2-2 tie Saturday afternoon at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
Hoquiam (0-0-2) scored when sophomore Chloey Deitrick sent a nice feed to senior Yazmin Garcia-Lopez, who fired a shot for a goal in the 34th minute.
Hoquiam’s Maci Winkelman scored in the 61st minute of the game off a deflection from an Onalaska defender for Hoquiam’s second goal of the game.
The tie game was Hoquiam’s second to start the season after the Grizzlies and Ocosta Wildcats played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 12.
“We played hard today,” Hoquiam head coach John Johnson said. “(Onalaska) made adjustments at the half and we held them off while creating opportunities. Overall, I’m happy with their play today.”
Hoquiam will host Rochester at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Ocosta 2, Coupeville 1
The Ocosta Wildcats took a long road trip over the weekend, emerging with a 2-1 victory over the Coupeville Wolves on Saturday in Coupeville.
After making the five-plus hour trip, Ocosta (2-2-1 overall) had less than a half-hour to warm up before game time.
The Wolves (0-4) took advantage, scoring on a high, crossing shot in the 17th minute.
But less than two minutes later, Ocosta was awarded a direct free kick after Miki Ness was fouled by the Wolves’ keeper on a breakaway attempt.
Ness netted a shot that chipped off the Wolves’ defensive wall and out of the keeper’s reach to knot the game up at 1-1.
In the closing minute of the first half, Ocosta freshman Penny Park received a cross from eighth-grader Scarlett Nelson and placed a shot past the arms of the Wolves keeper for her first varsity goal.
Ocosta outshot Coupeville 8-6 in the second half, but in a strategic move to preserve the one-goal lead, Wildcats head coach Mike King moved two of his best players — Ness and midfielder Natalie Carloza — to midfield and defense, respectively.
The move, coupled with Ocosta keeper Mia Saunders’ seven saves in the contest, helped the Wildcats to the victory.
“We had a slow start and weren’t moving to the ball in the first half. Our defensive intensity picked up once we tied the game,” King said, adding the Wolves’ goal woke his team up. “I was happy to see everyone contribute to this win.”
King cited the play of Ness and her sister Gabby, Carloza, Taeler Jardine and sweeper Kennedy Reynolds in the victory.
Ocosta hosts Onalaska at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ocosta 2 0 — 2
Scoring 1 0 — 1
First half — 1, Coupeville, 17th minute. 2, Ocosta, Ness, 19th minute. 3, Ocosta, Park (Nelson), 40th minute.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Monte teams place second, third at Jack n’ Jill invite
Montesano’s boys and girls cross country team placed second and third, respectively, at the Jack n’ Jill Invitational on Saturday at Lake Sacajawea in Longview.
Led by a seventh-place finish by senior Aric Jacklin (17:44.0), Monte’s boys team placed second with 100 points in the 13-team, 85-competitor boys varsity 5,000 meter race.
La Center took first with 61 points.
Montesano senior Lilly Schweppe posted a time of 23:46.4 in the girls race to place 10th and lead Monte to 76 points for a third-place finish.
Woodland (53 points) and RA Long (54) placed first and second, respectively.
Also of note was Montesano Junior High School runner Haley Schweppe, an eighth-grader who won the girls 2,500 meter middle school race with a time of 10:06.0.
Full race results are available at athletic.net.
Other games
Women’s College Soccer
Tacoma 7, Grays Harbor College 0
