CORRECTION: A previous version of this article contained an incorrect description of the play leading up to an injury to Elma’s Beta Valentine. The article has been updated to reflect the correction.
Elma and Montesano renewed their East County rivalry when the two faced off with huge league implications at stake as we review Thursday’s girls prep soccer games on the Harbor.
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GIRLS PREP SOCCER
Montesano 2, Elma 0
The 1A Evergreen League’s premiere girls soccer rivalry just got a whole lot more interesting.
Montesano scored the game’s only two goals after Elma’s all-state scorer went down with an injury in the Bulldogs’ 2-0 win on Thursday in Montesano.
Through the first 15 minutes of the game, it was the Eagles (4-5-2 overall, 3-1 1A Evergreen) that were flying high. Elma moved the ball well through the midfield and to its forwards, who were finding success penetrating into Monte territory.
The Eagles nearly scored just three minutes into the game when a roller toward Monte keeper Izzie Taylor was bobbled, but Taylor was able to cover it up before Elma pursuers Valerie Echeverria and Beta Valentine could get a foot on the ball.
Elma continued to hold possession and push into the Bulldogs side of the field until disaster befell the Eagles with approximately 35 minutes still to play in the first half.
Elma moved the up toward Valentine, who began to maneuver her way through midfield, garnering the attention of multiple Bulldogs along the way.
As Monte players converged on her, Valentine continued to battle for possession against Montesano midfielder Sam Roundtree. The ball was poked back to an Elma midfielder and as Valentine was trying to get around Roundtree, the two got tangled up and Valentine fell to the ground hard on her back, hitting her head in the process.
Valentine laid on the ground for several moments before sitting up with a glazed look in her eyes. The former all-state forward and last season’s 1A Evergreen co-Player of the Year was able to walk off the field but never returned to the game after undergoing concussion protocols.
“She hit her head hard and she was dizzy,” said Elma head coach and Valentine’s father, Evan Valentine, who felt as though his daughter was targeted on the play. “We got the ball. We did a little give-and-go and Beta turned and shot and I said, ‘This is good. This is all good.’ I could feel that this was all good, and then that happens. The best player on the entire field goes out. … When a key player goes out like that and you lose them so early, … It’s a domino effect.”
Without Valentine in the lineup, Montesano began to even the playing field, gaining more possession through the midfield and into Elma territory against the adjusted Eagles lineup.
The Bulldogs (7-4, 4-0) broke through with the game’s first goal when a throw-in from near the corner flag from Roundtree was headed into the air by the Elma defense. Bulldogs senior forward Adda Potts got her head on the ball and past Elma goal keeper Mylee Hull for a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Adda Potts scores on a header during the first half of a 2-0 win over Elma on Thursday in Montesano.
Monte nearly doubled its lead later in the first half when another long throw-in from Roundtree was deflected just wide followed later by a shot from freshman midfielder Lainey Robinson that sailed just over the crossbar in stoppage time.
Early in the second half, Montesano’s on-ball aggression would pay off when Roundtree would take the ball in Elma territory and drive toward the net on an angled run. From a few yards outside the top of the 18-yard box, Roundtree ripped a shot that tucked inside the top far-corner of the post for a goal less early in the second half.
“I got the ball, saw the wide-open space and took advantage of it,” Roundtree said. “It just found the back of the net. … Getting that first goal in the first half, we knew there was still work to do. … (Elma) still had plenty they could have done. We just had to go out and still keep our heads up and go as hard as we could until the end.”
The game would remain mostly a midfield battle through the first 25 minutes of the second half until Elma began to earn some chances at the Monte net.
Eagles senior midfielder Valerie Echeverria, who moved into Beta Valentine’s spot up front after Valentine was out with the injury, took a good shot that was saved by Bulldogs keeper Izzie Taylor in the 66th minute.
One minute later, Echeverria sent a well-placed cross to senior midfielder Mia Monroe, who leaped but just missed getting a foot on the ball at point-blank range.
Echeverria sent a cross to freshman midfielder Kenna Monroe at the far post that just missed connecting in the 70th minute and Taylor would preserve the shutout with a diving stop on an Elma chance in the 74th minute.
After the game, Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said he and his team offered prayers and well wishes to Beta Valentine for a speedy recovery, a gesture acknowledged by the Elma coaching staff.
“Obviously, Beta is a huge player for them and we have lots of respect for that girl,” said Sanchez, confirming he offered his prayers for Beta to the Elma coaching staff after the game. “I don’t want to see her get hurt, especially on a head injury like that. We respect her as the competitor she is. You can tell the game changed when she went out. … I can put as asterisk on this game and say, ‘Hey, they didn’t have their best player.’ To me, (Beta) is a big-time difference maker and it’s not the same (when she’s out). I’d rather beat them when she’s in the game because that’s how much respect I have for her. I pray for her and I hope she’s OK. I hope she recovers fast so she can enjoy her senior year.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma senior forward Beta Valentine (12) makes a play on the ball while defended by Montesano midfielder Addi Kersker (right) during a 2-0 loss to Montesano on Thursday in Montesano.
“You never hope for it, for anybody. I hate seeing kids get hurt, especially head stuff. You never want that,” Coach Valentine said. “(Montesano’s) coaches told me that they pray for her. I appreciate that.”
The win puts Monte a game up on Elma for the top spot in the 1A Evergreen League with the two scheduled to face off again in the regular-season finale on Oct. 29 in Elma.
“We just had to play our game. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough league game. They are definitely one of our toughest opponents,” Roundtree said of the win. “We had to pick our corners, know their weaknesses and use that to our advantage.”
“We haven’t been consistent this year with how we’ve played, so the message tonight was be consistent with everything you do,” Sanchez said. “You cannot take nights off. You cannot train as hard as you do and then come out here in the game and not show it. You’ve got to always represent and compete.”
Montesano hosts Tenino while Elma plays at Rochester in league games set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Elma 0 0 – 0
Montesano 1 1 – 2
Scoring
First half – 1, Montesano, Potts, 25th minute.
Second half – 2, Montesano, Roundtree, 41st minute.
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Aberdeen 1, Black Hills 0
It’s a rarity for a prep soccer player to score game-winning goals in two games on the same day, but that’s exactly what happened to Aberdeen’s Shay Dunlap on Thursday.
After scoring two goals to lead the Aberdeen junior varsity team to victory in the afternoon, Dunlap found herself on the end of an overtime game-winner as the Bobcats varsity team beat Shelton 1-0 at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
In a back-and-forth game that saw both teams earn multiple counter-attack opportunites only to be shut down by the opposing defenses, the Bobcats (5-5-2, 2-3 2A Evergreen) and Wolves (3-6-1, 1-4) drew to a scoreless tie at the end of 80 minutes of play.
But just 45 seconds into the first overtime, Aberdeen would put an end to the match.
Cats junior defender Alyssa Yakovich sent a long throw-in to senior forward Abby Mainio, who headed it to the Wolves goal keeper, who failed to secure the ball due to the pressure of oncoming Aberdeen senior midfielder Scotlyn Lecomte.
As the ball was bobbled, Lecomte poked it away and it ended up on the foot of Dunlap. The freshman put the ball in the back of the net for the sudden-death winner and a key 2A Evergreen League victory.
“It was a very rough game but the girls kept working hard and being aggressive on defense, midfield and up front,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said. “The hustle and effort we put in were excellent tonight.”
Aberdeen keeper Anni Devine earned her second-consecutive shutout while Fleming cited the play of defenders Hana Lessard, Yakovich, Joie Mayberry, and Kendalynn Garman and Dunlap and Lila Ericksen in the midfield.
With the win, Aberdeen moved a game ahead of Black Hills for fourth place in the 2A Evergreen Conference.
Before netting the game-winner Thursday evening, Dunlap scored two goals in Aberdeen junior varsity’s 3-2 victory on Thursday afternoon.
Val Aguilar also scored for Aberdeen in the victory.
The Bobcats face league-leading Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Aberdeen.
Black Hills 0 0 0 – 0
Aberdeen 0 0 1 – 1
First half – none.
Second half – none.
First overtime – 1, Aberdeen, Dunlap, 81st minute.
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Onalaska 4, Ocosta 0
A depleted Ocosta Wildcats team ran out of gas in the second half of a 4-0 loss to Onalaska on Wednesday at Onalaska High School.
The Wildcats (7-2-1, 2-2 2B Central) held the first-place Loggers (6-3-1, 3-0 2B Central) scoreless and controlled the pitch until an Onalaska goal in the 37th minute.
But in the second half, the Wildcats’ lack of depth due to injury left them with just one reserve, and the Loggers took advantage.
Onalaska scored goals in the 42nd, 47th and 57th minute to pull away and hand Ocosta just its second loss of the season.
“It was evident that we lost gas in the second half, but these girls didn’t complain and they played their hearts out,” Ocosta head coach Rissy Ness said. “Our Lady Wildcats still have plenty to hold their heads high about because they have accomplished so much already this season and there is still plenty of the season left to play.”
Ocosta sits in fifth place in the 2B Central League and takes on Adna at 6 p.m. on Monday at Adna High School.
Ocosta 0 0 – 0
Onalaska 1 3 – 4
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Other games
Rochester 5, Hoquiam 0
Adna 4, Raymond-South Bend 1
