Montesano seized sole possession of first place in the 1A Evergreen League as we review Wednesday’s boys prep soccer games.

BOYS PREP SOCCER ROUNDUP

Montesano 3, Elma 1

Montesano took a big step toward repeating as 1A Evergreen League champions with a 3-1 win over Elma on Wednesday at Davis Field in Elma.

In a battle of two teams with unbeaten league records and the league’s top spot at stake, Montesano (6-2 overall, 6-0 1A Evergreen) and Elma (5-2, 5-1) traded jabs at each other through the first 20 minutes of the game.

Monte junior forward Felix Romero sent a cross that went off the hand of of Elma keeper Tyler Keith followed a few minutes later by Eagles senior forward Cason Seaberg sending a shot just over the crossbar from inside the Bulldogs 18-yard box.

With both teams having their fair share of scoring chances in the early part of the first half – with Monte finding success with counter-attack runs and Elma creating chances with its possession game – it was the Bulldogs that struck first.

Halfway through the period, Montesano sophomore midfielder Jules Desjour gained possession just outside the 18, made an inside-out move to gain space, and ripped a shot past Keith for a 1-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half belonged to the Eagles, which controlled the majority of possession and created multiple chances in the final third.

But the finishing touch escaped the Eagles until 15 minutes into the second half when senior forward Jose Perez took a pass from freshman center mid Ivan Rodriguez and tucked a low shot just inside the near post to tie the game at 1-1.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano junior forward Felix Romero (15) dribbles while being defended by Elma’s Matthew Wood during the Bulldogs’ 3-1 victory on Wednesday at Elma High School.

Romero nearly regained the lead for Monte with a shot that rang off the crossbar a minute later.

The Bulldogs would regain the lead when a corner kick bounced around in front of the Elma goal was ruled a hand ball by the referee, giving Monte a penalty kick with just under 10 minutes left to play.

Montesano sophomore midfielder Cris Tobar converted the penalty kick for a 2-1 lead.

Elma continued to create chances into Montesano territory, but struggled to find its finishing touch.

Monte took advantage when Romero pivoted to his right and sent a shot past Keith for a 3-1 lead in the 78th minute, securing the win for the Bulldogs.

“That’s something that we work on is those overlapping and underlapping runs,” said Romero of his team’s ability to create chances in open space. “Our forwards, that’s what we work on most in practice. … Knowing that we are playing a really good opponent with a good defense, that’s the way you have to break them because you can’t go direct all the time.”

Montesano senior goal keeper Cohen Andersen made 13 saves in the game against an Eagles team that had averaged 7.75 goals per game in its four previous victories.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior goal keeper Cohen Andersen records one of 13 saves in a 3-1 win over Elma on Wednesday in Elma.

“We knew they had some scorers so we kind of focused in on them a little bit. Our defense did a great job of executing our plan of slowing down Seaberg and anyone else the brought up there,” Andersen said. “A lot of respect for (Elma). They played a great game, but our guys just went out there and got it done. … We have really good chemistry as a team. We communicate well, understand what’s going on and what we need to do to stop it a lot of the time.”

The win gives Monte the inside track at the halfway point of the league schedule and a two-goal advantage over Elma.

“We stayed organized. It sounds easy, but it’s hard to do with high school boys,” Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said of his backline’s performance. “That’s half the battle. The other half is playing out of the back, connecting to the midfield and creating the attack. It was good and I’m proud of the boys how they handled that. We got on (Elma) early, which was another good thing on the road and I like how we responded after (Elma) got the tying goal. … Everything is clicking right now for us and that’s a good thing.”

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano senior defender Spencer Lovell, left, competes with Elma senior forward Cason Seaberg for possession during the Bulldogs’ 3-1 win on Wednesday in Elma.

“We say every game that we are playing the best team in the state until we beat them,” Romero said of Monte’s team mindset. “Whoever they put in front of us, we just look at it like that.”

Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said inexperience on the backline lead to Monte chances.

“We’ve got a young back line with new players and the way we want to play it. … They’re still kind of rounding into shape and sometimes we give up things and let them get into positions we don’t want them to be in. That happened a little bit early on in the first half,” he said. “Sometimes you go through growing pains and you succeed little by little. … Hopefully, you can get out on the practice field and fix them and get better.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Felix Romero (15) is congratulated by Daniel Schallon (12) after scoring a goal in the second half of a 3-1 win over Elma on Wednesday at Davis Field in Elma.

Elma plays at Chelan at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Monte is off for Spring Break and will resume its schedule at 6 p.m. on April 8 at Ilwaco.

Montesano 1 2 – 3

Elma 1 0 – 1

Scoring

First half – 1, Montesano, Desjour, 20th minute.

Second half – 2, Elma, J. Perez (Rodriguez), 55th minute. 3, Montesano, Tobar, 69th minute. 4, Montesano, Romero, 75th minute.

Hoquiam 8, Tenino 1

Hoquiam won its second league game in a row with a convincing 8-1 victory over Tenino on Wednesday at the Sea Breeze Oval in Hoquiam.

The Grizzlies (3-6, 3-4 1A Evergreen) got hat tricks from both sophomore midfielder Santiago Martinez Ortiz and freshman forward Michael Garcia, each of whom scored twice in the first half to stake Hoquiam to a 4-0 lead 32 minutes into the game.

Hoquiam freshman JB Fabian scored on a long shot just before halftime to take a 5-0 lead into the break.

Tenino (1-6, 1-5) scored a goal on a shot by senior Kaiden Lindholm early in the second half, but Hoquiam ran off three consecutive goals to end the game.

Aside from Martinez Ortiz and Garcia, Hoquiam’s JB Fabian and Mason Kelley scored a goal in the game.

“With the score being what it was, we had the opportunity and took the opportunity to practice moving the ball around the field. We moved around players to try new positions,” Hoquiam head coach Corri Schmid said. “I have to give Tenino some credit. They gave it their all until the last second of the game. That’s very respectable.”

Hoquiam resumes play against Raymond-South Bend at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 8 at South Bend High School.

Tenino 1 0 – 1

Hoquiam 5 3 – 8

Scoring

First half – 1, Hoquiam, Martinez Ortiz, 3rd minute. 2, Hoquiam, Garcia, 16th minute. 3, Hoquiam, Martinez Ortiz, 25th minute. 4, Hoquiam, Garcia, 32nd minute. 5, Hoquiam, JB Fabian, 38nd minute. 6, Tenino, Lindholm, 40th minute.

Second half – 7, Hoquiam, Martinez Ortiz, 60th minute. 8, Hoquiam, Garcia, 64th minute. 9, Hoquiam, Kelly, 69th minute.

Other games

Raymond-South Bend 4, Eatonville 2