Raymond-South Bend left little doubt in its first-place showdown with Montesano while Elma’s Manny Venegas recorded a heroic hat trick as we review Thursday’s boys prep soccer games on the Harbor.

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BOYS PREP SOCCER

Raymond-South Bend 6, Montesano 0

Raymond-South Bend dominated the second half en route to a 6-0 victory over Montesano in a battle of undefeated teams on Thursday at Montesano High School.

The Ravens (9-0 overall, 9-0 1A Evergreen) traded barbs with the Bulldogs (7-1, 7-1) throughout the first quarter of game play, with multiple Ravens attackers peppering the Monte goal with shots from the edge of the 18-yard box while the Bulldogs nearly took the lead on a header that was just wide by senior forward Felix Romero.

Raymond-South Bend broke the scoreless tie when junior forward Alex Posada took a pass from junior Bryan Camacho, dribbled his way through the Montesano back line and ripped a low shot past Bulldogs keeper Matt Causey and inside the left post for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.

The Ravens sent five more dangerous shots toward the Monte net in the first half, but thanks to some solid goal keeper play by Causey, the Bulldogs kept the deficit at 1-0 entering halftime.

But the second half was a different story.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Cris Tobar boots the ball forward while pursued by Raymond-South Bend’s Alex Posada during the Ravens’ 6-0 win on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

RSB head coach Joe Keegan and his staff moved some chess pieces around to open the second 40 minutes of play, and Montesano didn’t have an answer.

The Ravens doubled their lead when sophomore midfielder Jose Ramirez dribbled inside the box and hammered a shot for a goal off an assist from junior midfielder Kingston Manaman five minutes into the half.

Just two minutes later, pressure by the Ravens created a rebound opportunity on the backside for Edgar Ramirez, who slotted the ball into an open net for a 3-0 lead.

The Ravens kept the foot on the proverbial pedal, taking a 4-0 lead when sophomore forward Adam Mora tucked another hard shot from inside the box past the near post in the 57th minute.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Raymond-South Bend’s Edgar Ramirez (11) is congratulated by teammate Chris Quintana (4) during the Ravens’ 6-0 win on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

Goals by Jose Ramirez and senior midfielder Chris Quintana in the final minutes of the game sealed the Ravens’ 6-0 victory.

“They were on fire,” Keegan said of his team. “We were winning the midfield. The midfield in the second half, that’s what made the difference. In the first half, (Monte) was controlling a lot of the midfield and they had the ball a lot. Second half, we changed it up.”

“We decided to bring another defensive midfielder to help us defend them better and I moved up to almost a center-attacking forward,” Edgar Ramirez said. “I think we were just going good on defense and then got the goals off of good passing.”

Causey faced 21 shots in the game for a Bulldogs defense that faced consistent pressure throughout the contest.

RSB goal keeper Miguel Perez made a leaping, one-handed save of a Monte shot in the 54th minute to preserve the Ravens’ second shutout of the season.

Jose Ramirez had four assists for the Ravens.

Entering the game, both teams were undefeated and in a virtual tie atop the 1A Evergreen League standings.

The Ravens felt as though they had a good chance at beating the Bulldogs entering the game, but they didn’t figure it would play out the way it did.

“I knew we could’ve won this game, but I didn’t expect the 6-0,” Edgar Ramirez said. “It feels good. I’m happy.”

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Raymond-South Bend’s Michael Nunez (left) and Montesano’s Felix Romero compete for possession during the Ravens’ 6-0 win on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

The win plus six-goal differential means Raymond-South Bend is now in the driver’s seat for a league title and top playoff seed at the halfway point of the league schedule.

Keegan said the current iteration of the Ravens has the ability to play both stretch and possession styles of offense.

“This group we have now, they are great ball players. They play short-passing and with (Aberdeen transfer) Evan (Cone) this year and all these younger guys, they are great ball players,” he said, adding that the focus of his team is to take one game at a time and not overlook any opponent. “We take every game as a major game. It’s not just because it’s Montesano, every game we play is to win. You are only as good as your next game.”

RSB plays at Forks at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Montesano faces Hoquiam at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Hoquiam.

RSB 1 5 – 6

Montesano 0 0 – 0

Scoring

First half – 1, Raymond-South Bend, Posada (Camacho), 18th minute.

Second half – 2, RSB, J. Ramirez (Maneman), 45th minute. 3, RSB, E. Ramirez (J. Ramirez), 47th minute. 4, RSB, Mora (J. Ramirez), 56th minute. 5, RSB, E. Ramirez (J. Ramirez), 77th minute. 6, RSB, Quintana (J. Ramirez), 80th minute.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO Elma Eagles players pose for a photo after a 3-2 comeback victory over Forks on Thursday at Davis Field in Elma.

Elma 3, Forks 2

Elma’s Manny Venegas scored three unanswered goals – including the overtime game-winner – to lead the Eagles to a 3-2 comeback victory over Forks on Thursday at Davis Field in Elma.

The Eagles (5-3, 5-3 1A Evergreen) trailed 1-0 after a Spartans goal in the 25th minute and fell behind 2-0 after a Forks goal off a corner kick and rebound in the 56th minute.

Venegas, who was strategically placed at the top of the Eagles offense to generate more scoring chances, cut the deficit in half when he took a pass from senior midfielder Gregory Mendez and scored on a shot just outside of the 18-yard box in the 66th minute.

With just a handful of minutes remaining in the game, Venegas got a foot on a 50/50 ball to set himself up for a shot from the top of the box that rolled in to tie the score at 2-all.

In the first overtime period, a hard Elma shot off the Forks goal keeper was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick. Elma sophomore forward Luis Torres lined up the corner and sent it arcing toward the far post. Venegas made a run and got his head to the ball and into the net for the golden goal.

“Once again, Manny just outmaneuvers his guy right on the far post and he hits the header. It’s hard enough and it goes in for the game-winner,” Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said, noting Torres’ corner kick that set up the goal. “It was a beautiful ball in on his part. One that just had a nice little bend away from the keeper in the middle of the goal, but tucking in tight on that far post where Manny was able to get on it and make that happen.”

It was Venegas’ third goal over the final 25 minutes of game time.

Seaberg also noted the play of sophomore midfielder Diego Morales, who didn’t start due to feeling under the weather a day prior, but made an immediate impact upon taking his spot in the Eagles’ defensive midfield 15 minutes into the game.

“He is the difference-maker for us,” Seaberg said. “He just wins so many balls and plays so well for us. … He’s a game-changer and plays so well back there. … It was a legitimate difference. … He’s just that midfield destroyer that wins the ball in the air, wins tackles consistently and frequently wins the ball and connects a pass.”

With the win, Elma sits a half-game behind Rochester for third place in the 1A Evergreen League.

The Eagles host the Warriors at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Forks 1 1 – 2

Elma 0 3 – 3

Scoring

First half – 1, Forks, 25th minute.

Second half – 2, Forks, 56th minute. 3, Elma, Venegas (Mendez), 66th minute. 4, Elma, Venegas, 76th minute.

First overtime – 5, Elma, Venegas (L. Torres), 84th minute.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Raymond-South Bend’s Jose Ramirez (7) and Montesano’s Terek Gunter compete for possession during the Ravens’ 6-0 win on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.