Montesano outscored Columbia High 3-1 in a shootout that earned the Bulldogs a 4-3 victory over the Bruins in a marathon Southwest Washington 2A League soccer match here Thursday.
Regulation ended at 3-3 and after two five-minute, sudden-death overtime periods the score reÿmained tied. The teams then went to a best-of-five shootout to decide the outcome.
Montesano (2-1, 2-5) scored on its first three kicks while Columbia (1-2, 1-5) mustered just one goal -- by junior Avery Hoyt -- in three attempts.
The Bruins led 3-1 midway through the second half but surrenÿdered goals in the 75th and 80th minutes that tied it up at 3-3. The tying goal by the Bulldogs' Chris Johnson came with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
Montesano had a goal in the 79th minute nullified by an offsides penalty.
"I think they must have thought like I did, that we dodged a bullet on that one," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles said.
But Columbia couldn't evade the one that forced overtime, a shot by
Johnson from 15 yards out that slipped past freshman goalkeeper Miguel Juarez.
"Most of their shots came in the second half because we folded back and played a defensive game, which is something I wish we hadn't done," Knowles noted.
In the final five minutes of the match, the Bruins had trouble getÿting the ball past midfield. As a consequence, the Bulldogs won alÿmost every ball and mount their comeback attack.
"We weren't playing aggressiveÿly," said Knowles. "We were playÿing not to lose instead of to win."
Columbia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals by freshman Mitchell England in the fourth and 36th minutes.
England took a pass from freshÿman Roger Wilson and ripped a solid shot past Montesano's netÿminder to make it 1-0. His second goal came off a feed from sophoÿmore Juan Huerta.
The Bulldogs answered the Bruins' second goal in the 37th minute. Johnson received a cross and snuck a goal inside the right post from eight yards away to cut the deficit in half.
In the 61st minute, junior Jorge Barajas put Columbia on top 3-1, slipping a shot under a charging Montesano goalie who'd left the net to contest the attack.
"It was a weird goal. It didn't look like it had enough on it, but it went in," Knowles remarked.
Columbia enjoyed a 3-1 lead for the next 14 minutes, though it had to work hard to protect it.
Montesano took advantage of a CHS defensive breakdown in the 75th minute, scoring an assisted goal from 12 yards out.
"The reason they got that goal is because we didn't drop our midÿfield back far enough. They were able to shoot a pass over us and take it straight in," Knowles said.
Montesano had two chances to win the match in the second overtime with a penalty kick.
Juarez stopped the first shot, but Montesano got another when the linesman flagged CHS' rookie keeper for leaving the goal line too early. It didn't matter. Juarez gobÿbled that one up too.
"I'd never seen that before, a goalie stopping two penalty kicks in a row," Knowles noted. "Miguel
had a really strong match."
CHS' coach also praised the play of center fielder England.
"He scored two of our three goals and helped create the third," Knowles added. "He's really taken charge the last two games and started to play as a playmaker."
Columbia 2, at Hoquiam 1 --
Exchange student Werner Wind converted a penalty kick in the 60th minute March 27 to provide the margin the Bruins needed to win their first match of the season.
Columbia (1-1, 1-4) earned the victory on a field that had two large puddles -- one on each end -- and despite being outshot 13-2 by Hoÿquiam (1-1, 3-3).
Freshman Mitchell England scored his first goal of the season in the 33rd minute, knocking a shot from 20 yards out through the legs of Hoquiam's goalkeeper.
"It was just an ugly, hard shot that made it through the puddle," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles noted.
Hoquiam took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, scoring from 10 yards away after a throw-in. The Grizÿzlies had a chance to extend their lead to 2-0 five minutes later but a penalty kick hit the left upright.
The Bruins broke the 1-1 halfÿtime tie after Hoquiam fouled Engÿland in the penalty box.
Wind drilled the bonus kick (for his third goal of the season) past Hoquiam's netminder for a 2-1 lead.
Led by the defensive play of senior Nick Johnson and junior Avery Hoyt, Columbia made that one-goal edge stand up through the final 20 minutes of action, though Hoquiam put together a series of attacks on goal. A last-minute shot by the Grizzlies hit the post.
Knowles said the soggy field conditions benefitted CHS because they helped thwart Hoquiam's passÿing attack.
"It was like a game of kick-ball in a mud puddle," he quipped. "You just had to keep kicking the ball to get it to go somewhere."
The Bruins had only two shots on goal in 80 minutes of play but made both count.
"All season our shooting accuraÿcy has been phenomenal. We just don't get enough shots," Knowles said.
Next up:
The Bruins host the Woodland Beavers in a non-league match Saturday at CHS Stadium. The contest starts at 1 p.m.
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