ELMA — Montesano’s possession style of play controlled a young Elma squad in this East County Derby at Davis Field on Thursday.
The Bulldogs had three different goal scorers, all set up by the possession passing game, to blank the Eagles, 3-0, in an Evergreen 1A League boys soccer rivalry match.
Riccardo Marangon, Cole Yanney and Kyle Cox each scored for Monte, with goalkeeper Waymn Thoemmes getting the clean sheet with three saves.
“We’ve been working very hard over the last two weeks in keeping possession, so the guys really stepped up,” Montesano head coach Rick Denholm said. “Our connections from the midfield to the forwards really worked well. The guys have really bought into it and they’ve done a good job. I’m proud of the effort everyone gave tonight.”
“(Montesano) was able to do what they wanted to do better than what we wanted to do,” Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said. “They did a nice job of winning the ball and switching the field to keep pressure on the defense. Overall, we got a lot of new guys on the field and they did a good job. This is a learning experience.”
After a 10-minute sprint by both teams to start the contest, Montesano settled down and began controlling the midfield with short, quick passes. Elma, which fielded five freshman on the night, settled in as well, but found itself chasing play.
With the midfield under control, Montesano began slicing through Elma’s defense and threatening goalkeeper A.J. Hernandez. Following a run by forward Conner Parkinson, who had a shot saved by Hernandez, the Bulldogs got their first corner of the match.
The ball was sent into the middle of the penalty area and it deflected off several players. Monte defender Marangon, whose work on the left side of the Bulldogs’ defense was effective throughout the contest, found the ball at his feet. He one-touched it into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.
Parkinson, Luis Muro and Nicolai Vikkelsoe each had chances on goal in the second portion of the first half against Hernandez. However, the game went into halftime with a 1-0 score.
Montesano’s Dane Norberg nearly made it 2-0 in the 48th minute when his 18-yard shot was heading for the far right high corner. Hernandez needed a stretching save to push it over the crossbar. Three minutes later, the Bulldogs did score, but an offsides call nullified the goal.
Elma was able to get some offensive push against Montesano to relieve the pressure on its defense in the second half. However, Thoemmes wasn’t threatened until late in the match — a Colin Decker-Hicks turn-and-shot from 15 yards out that went straight into Thoemmes’ arms.
Yanney got his goal in the 57th minute when a series of passes from Parkinson, Vikkelsoe and Muro got to him on the far post. Yanney slotted the ball home for a 2-0 lead.
Parkinson and Yanney connected on a quick passing play to find Cox wide open at the far left post in extra time. Cox sent a sliding shot for the low left corner as Hernandez dove to keep it out. The ball found a way into the net to end the scoring.
Both teams are off for spring break and will return to action on April 11 — Elma host Tenino and Monte hosts Hoquiam.
