Montesano took a big first step in its return to the 1A State Tournament on Wednesday, scoring three unanswered goals in a 3-1 first-round victory over La Salle at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
Monte (17-2 overall) started the game with three quality shots in the first five minutes of play, but it was the Lightning (13-7) that would strike first.
La Salle gained possession and sent a high-arcing, 50/50 ball toward the Bulldogs net. La Salle attacking midfielder Marisa Badillo deflected the ball into the net as Montesano keeper Riley Timmons collided with a Lightning player for a 1-0 La Salle lead just over six minutes into the game.
But relying on its state-playoff experience from a season ago, Montesano remained focused and poised and continued to pressure the Lightning.
Montesano cashed in on its fourth corner kick in an eight-minute span when junior midfielder Bethanie Henderson sent the ball to the front of the Lightning net. Junior forward Mikayla Stanfield made a run and got her body on the bouncing ball, deflecting it past La Salle keeper Olivia Stevens to tie the game at 1-1 in the 23rd minute.
“It sets it back to a 0-0 game, so that’s nice,” Stanfield said of her game-tying goal. “Just kind of getting the game back into our control and just moving on and using that momentum, that is what we want.”
Monte didn’t wait long to take the lead as just three minutes later, Bulldogs senior forward Lilly Causey took a cross from fellow senior Belle Estrada and bent the net with a shot for a 2-1 lead.
“(The ball) was up in the air and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get it in,” Causey said. “I knew that if I would’ve hit it any harder it would’ve had too much power and possibly gone outside of the goal, so I just lightly tried to tap it. It was actually a really fun goal to score.”
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior Lilly Causey (11) heads the ball while La Salle’s Brooke Gaytan during the Bulldogs’ 3-1 victory in a 1A State first-round playoff game on Wednesday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
The Bulldogs continued to pepper Stevens with shots but failed to convert on multiple prime scoring opportunities, including three breakaway attempts as the game went into halftime with Monte up 2-1.
With the outcome still in the balance, Montesano’s Jaiden King provided some breathing room.
The senior midfielder took a pass from Stanfield near the top of the 18-yard box and hammered a shot past Stevens for an all-important insurance goal in the 46th minute.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder Jaiden King (23) sends the ball forward while La Salle’s Hazel Jones defends during the Bulldogs’ 3-1 victory in a 1A State first-round playoff game on Wednesday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
Montesano controlled the game the rest of the way, with Timmons needing only to make a leaping deflection on a high shot late in the second half as Monte prevailed 3-1.
“We created chances by moving the ball fast and quick and to the open player,” said Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez, whose team outshot La Salle 17-1 and 8-0 on corner kicks. “Today was one of those examples of where it was visible of how fast we were able to move the ball to the open player and we broke them down and got through. The only problem is we have to put that in the net.”
“You just have to forget about it when you are in the game and move on,” Stanfield said about Monte’s missed opportunities. “You can’t think in the past. You have to move forward. … We definitely kept our composure and weren’t panicked or scared about (being down 1-0). We just had to keep it going and pick it up.”
With the victory, No. 4 Montesano moves on to the quarterfinal round where the Bulldogs will face No. 5 Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), which defeated No. 12 Seton Catholic 1-0 on Wednesday.
The game will be played in Montesano likely on Saturday, but the time and date had not yet been finalized at the time of this writing.
