As good as their first meeting was, the soccer rematch was even better.

Montesano and Elma battled back-and-forth for eighty minutes and two overtime periods before squaring off in a thrilling penalty-kick shootout.

Montesano keeper Riley Timmons made three consecutive saves in the shootout and Liz York slotted home the game-winner as the Bulldogs emerged with a 2-1 victory — 3-1 on penalty kicks — Thursday in Elma.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano goal keeper Riley Timmons made three saves in the Bulldogs’ 3-1 win in a penalty-kick shootout to defeat Elma 2-1 on Thursday in Elma.

In a game that would decide the 1A Evergreen League champion, Montesano (13-1 overall, 7-0 1A Evergreen) got on the board first.

Standout junior forward Mikayla Stanfield made a diagonal run across the Elma defensive half before pivoting to let loose a long, high-arcing shot over the head of Elma keeper Emmie Spencer for a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.

Elma (12-3, 5-2) responded early in the second half when junior midfielder Eliza Sibbett drew a foul just outside the Montesano 18-yard box.

One of the Eagles’ super sophomores — forward Beta Valentine — took the free kick and scored to tie the game in the 43rd minute.

The game would remain tied throughout the remainder of the second half as both teams took their shots at scoring a potential game-winner.

Monte’s best scoring opportunity came with just a few minutes left in the half when senior forward Lilly Causey made a run down the sideline and sent a deep-angled shot toward the far post, but Spencer tracked the ball well to make a save with her heels on the goal line.

The Eagles had several scoring opportunities in the second half, including a shot from another sophomore standout — forward Miley Seaberg — that Timmons got a hand on then scrambled in the face of an oncoming Valentine to secure a dangerous rebound in stoppage time.

After both teams had chances in the two overtime periods, the game went to penalty kicks.

Monte’s Belle Estrada scored to open the shootout with Seaberg tying it up with a goal.

Stanfield stepped up and rang a shot off the right post, giving Elma a chance to take the lead, but Valentine followed with a shot that Timmons got both hands on and deflected it up and off the bottom of the cross bar. The ball bounced a foot in front of the goal line and somehow stayed out to keep the shootout tied at a goal apiece.

Bethanie Henderson then gave Monte a 2-1 lead with a perfectly-placed shot to the top left corner.

Timmons dove to make a save on an attempt by Elma’s Valerie Echeverria followed by Monte’s Jaiden King missing a shot just wide.

Timmons then made a leaping two-handed save on an attempt by Aaleigha Weld for Timmons third-straight save in the shootout.

“I definitely felt more calm,” said Timmons, who made a key save in last season’s PK shootout victory over Tenino in a state-playoff game. “I was a lot more confident because of how we practice (shootouts) as much as we do. … I know that I have to make the save. … I was just thinking to do anything to keep the ball out. It’s not my preference to go into a shootout, but I know my team was playing as hard as they could and I had confidence in them.”

Timmons’ saves set up a game-winning opportunity for Monte’s Liz York.

The junior defender, who had recently earned a starting role, hit the biggest shot of her prep career, beating Spencer to the top right of the net to give Montesano the victory and setting off a Bulldogs celebration at midfield.

“We expected it to be a tough game, but we didn’t expect it to go to a shootout,” said York, who offered some insight into her mindset leading up to the pressure-packed moment. “I was thinking to myself, ‘We’ve practiced these a million times.’ … I knew where I wanted to place the shot and I just went in there and did it.”

While York was prepared for the moments leading up to the shot, it was the moments afterward that caught her by surprise.

“When I saw it curve up and in, for a second I kind of held my breath in and I turned and looked at everyone because I wanted to make sure it was over. I was like, ‘That was it, right?’ And I turned and just ran,” she said. “We were all just so pumped up and that was one of my biggest moments. It was a huge moment for me. We had been talking the whole game about having tons of energy throughout the whole game, and that final shot I felt all that energy from everyone.”

“I was so happy for her,” Timmons said of York. “That’s her first shootout and it’s the winning goal, so that is amazing.”

“It’s funny because we don’t put defenders in the PK lineup. Liz earned her spot in practice,” Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said. “What a win for her. … She’s doing some good things. She’s smart, she knows where to be. I’m just happy for her that she got that winning kick because she deserves it a whole lot.”

Timmons was busy on Thursday, making nine saves as Elma held a distinct advantage in shots (12-5) and shots on-goal (11-3).

“Overall, I was really happy with the team,” said Elma head coach Evan Valentine, who commended his defense for holding the Bulldogs to just one goal in regulation. “I think it’s fair to say we were probably the better team overall, but that is how soccer is. It’s a tough game and you don’t always win the close games.”

“I knew, coming back to this field, that Elma was going have something to prove,” Sanchez said. “I thought we were a little bit out of our element as far as who we were and what we do. … At the end of the second half, Elma had all the pressure for about 10 minutes and we couldn’t get the ball forward, so we had to change formations multiple times and we rarely do that. … It was good to see our girls play through adversity. It was not our best game by far, no disrespect to Elma. I think they played really well and tough. … Elma came out and wanted it and they showed it.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Valerie Echeverria races down the sideline by being chased by Montesano’s Sam Roundtree, left, during the Bulldogs’ 2-1 victory (3-1 on penalty kicks) over Elma on Thursday at Davis Field in Elma.

Despite a second disappointing loss to the Bulldogs this season, Coach Valentine saw many positives in his young team of mostly juniors and sophomores experiencing a game with so much at stake.

“I said (to the team), ‘This is great experience. You got to feel a really intense, high-pressure game. This is good. This might happen again. We might go to districts and we might go to state. This is all stuff that you can feel now and it’s real.’ I just tried to get that point across to them.”

With one league game left on the season for each team, the win clinches the 1A Evergreen League title for the second-ranked Bulldogs with No. 10 Elma securing the league’s No. 2 spot.

Montesano will host WF West in a non-league game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday before closing out the regular season against Hoquiam at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Monte.

Elma will host Eatonville at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Eagles’ regular-season finale.