Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
The Montesano Bulldogs had plenty of luck on their side in a 1-0 victory over the Elma Eagles on Thursday in Montesano.
In a game that would likely decide the 1A Evergreen League championship, the Bulldogs struck first when a nifty give-and-go pass freed up space for Monte midfielder Jaiden Morrison to streak down the left side of Elma’s defense.
Morrison then sent a cross to the foot of forward Anabelle Estrada, who connected on a one-timer to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 in the seventh minute.
Elma (9-4-1 overall, 5-2 1A Evergreen) shook off the cobwebs and spent much of the first half on the Bulldogs side of the field, but Montesano’s stalwart defense — which has allowed just one goal in league play this season — kept Eagles shooters from getting anything through to keeper Riley Timmons.
Elma forward Beta Valentine intercepted a pass in front of the Elma goal on a dangerous play, but her shot to the near post was deflected wide by Timmons for a corner kick midway through the first half.
In stoppage time of the first half, the Eagles got the first of two golden scoring opportunities when a Monte foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick.
Elma senior midfielder Janessa Sample — who scored on a PK in the Eagles’ 2-1 win over Tenino on Tuesday — sent the freebie wide of the left post, keeping the score at 1-0 Montesano.
In the second half, Montesano (12-1, 7-0) had better success moving through the midfield and penetrating into Eagles territory, but Elma’s defense was equal to the task as keeper Grace Koonrad and the Eagles turned away several Montesano scoring chances.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder and leading scorer Mikayla Stanfield draws attention from Elma’s Aaleigha Weld (14) and Grace Spencer (19) during Thursday’s 1A Evergreen League game in Montesano.
But the most threatening chances of the half came from the Elma offense, and it all happened within a minute of game time.
An Eagles free kick off the foot of Valerie Echeverria required a leaping save from Timmons in the 48th minute as the shot was deflected across the back line for an Eagles corner kick.
On the ensuing set-piece, Elma was awarded its second penalty kick of the game, giving the Eagles another golden opportunity to score.
Elma senior forward Chloe Clark stepped up and sent a shot to the top of the Monte net, but Timmons came up big once again, leaping to get a hand on the ball and deflect it off the crossbar. Montesano midfielder Paige Lisherness then cleared the rebound out of bounds to preserve Monte’s 1-0 lead.
“We had opportunities to tie and pull ahead and we didn’t take ‘em. Soccer is a cruel sport. Sometimes that happens,” Elma head coach Evan Valentine said. “I don’t fault anybody. The pressure is high. These are high school kids that are working hard. We all miss penalties and they will miss more. It happens.”
Montesano’s leading scorer, sophomore midfielder Mikayla Stanfield, nearly put the Bulldogs up 2-0 with a shot headed for the top part of the net. But Elma backup keeper Emmie Spencer made a leaping, one-handed save, deflecting the ball away to keep it a one-goal game with less than four minutes to play.
Monte’s defense didn’t allow any further scoring threats to secure the victory, the league title and No. 1 playoff seed.
Despite the victory, Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said his team was off its game and has much to work to do based on Thursday’s performance.
“We went away from our work. We went away from it and that’s why I am disapointed,” he said. “We’ve got to look at the game and look at what we are doing in order to play a better game. That’s not our best performance, by far.”
Sanchez said Elma’s plan to play a defensive game and look for breaks nearly worked.
“They were hoping for breaks and they got two breaks with the two missed PKs,” he said. “In this game you have to take advantage of your opportunities and they didn’t do that. If they had done that, they would have beat us tonight. Those are the things we have to look at. Why did we struggle so much tonight and why weren’t we as explosive as I know we are?”
“I came up with a different strategy to match the way they played,” said Valentine, whose team played with an extra midfielder back on the defensive line. “We wanted to give it a shot and it almost worked.”
One area of the game that did impress Sanchez was Timmons’ play in goal, particularly in making clutch saves in the second half.
“She was the player of the game. She stepped up huge,” he said of his sophomore keeper. “To be a sophomore and to step up like that because we were not getting effective possession, she stepped up huge. I couldn’t believe she blocked that PK. That was awesome.”
Though it’s chance to earn a share of the league title fell by the wayside with Thursday’s loss, Elma remains locked in the league’s second spot and will host a playoff game in the first round of the district playoffs as a No. 2 seed.
“At this point, I just want us to keep playing good soccer and keep everybody healthy for districts,” Valentine said. “Those are my two main things. It was kind of a rough game, but I think everybody is OK. That’s the No. 1 thing, to keep everybody healthy.”
Elma 0 0 — 0
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder Jaiden King (23) passes the ball away from Elma midfielder Eliza Sibbett during Monte’s 1-0 win on Thursday in Montesano.
