MONTESANO — Four minutes into the match, the first goal was scored. Hoquiam kept its form and so did Montesano, which turned out to be the winning formula in the rain on Tuesday night.
After the Grizzlies seized a quick 1-0 lead four minutes in, the Bulldogs kept their possession-style offense intact and picked apart the Grizzlies’ team-oriented defensive strategy en route to a 5-1 victory in Evergreen 1A League girls soccer play at Rottle Field.
Lexi Lovell scored twice for Montesano (3-0, 7-2-2), with teammates Hallie Stubb, Peyton Poler and Kayleigh Sutherby adding one goal each to the tally. Emma Skinner scored Hoquiam’s lone goal.
“It didn’t faze them; they kept playing their game and they got back into the game really quick,” Montesano head coach Mike Malpass said.
“That is the hard part about not being a possession-style team,” HHS head coach Drew Grannemann said. “(Montesano) had the time and the possession to find and nitpick our defense. When you are on defense for 80 minutes, good teams and good coaches — like Montesano — can find the spots.”
The last time both teams met at Rottle Field, Montesano rolled to a 9-0 victory over Hoquiam. This time, Skinner made sure that the Grizzlies (1-1, 4-6) had one on the board.
Taking a leading pass that split the Montesano defensive line and put goalkeeper Haylee Perkinson in no-man’s land, Skinner took one touch to get past Perkinson and score into an empty net in the fourth minute.
For Perkinson, this was her only mis-step on the night. The junior goalkeeper aggressively cut off Hoquiam’s lead passes for the remainder of the match and finished with three saves.
For Hoquiam, this was the best start possible. Known for its defensive prowess, the Grizzlies slid back and began to absorb Montesano’s offensive attacks. The Bulldogs didn’t wait long to tie the match.
Lovell found herself with plenty of space inside Hoquiam’s defense for a shot on goal. From 20 yards out, she one-timed a shot into the upper right corner for a 1-1 tie.
Montesano kept the pressure on Hoquiam throughout the rest of the first half. The Grizzlies had a chance or two for a counterattack — Skinner was the lone forward up front all night — but couldn’t crack Perkinson or her defensive teammates.
Stubb made it 2-1 in the 30th minute when she took a short corner kick from Samantha Stanfield, settled the ball and ignited a 25-yard rocket into the upper right corner from the left sideline.
After halftime, Montesano kept possession of the ball and pinned Hoquiam deep into its defensive zone. Unofficially, the Bulldogs held a 3-to-1 ratio of possession time in the match. This pressure paid off midway though the second half.
Poler finished off a series of passes around the penalty area for a 20-yard shot and goal in the 62nd minute. Two minutes later, Lovell got her second of the match when she poked the ball off Hoquiam goalkeeper Jade Cox. The ball had just enough momentum to cross the goal line for the score.
Montesano finished with several more shots on goal and one last score of the night, a long-range shot by Sutherby just before the final whistle.
“It is nice that different players step up,” Malpass said. “Normally, it is (Stanfield), who likes to score spectacular goals, but we had four different goal scorers. A lot of them don’t realize the potential there, so hopefully this can help them with their confidence in taking a chance. It is a good win.”
On Thursday, Montesano hits the road to take on Forks, while Hoquiam hosts Elma.
