Columbia High's boys soccer team started a new winning streak last upon its return from spring, posting a pair of Trico Division shutout victories.
The Bruins (6-1 in Trico, 7-1 overall) blanked La Center, 5-0, there April 11 and followed that with a 5-0 road win at Woodland last Thursday.
Versus La Center, Mart¡n Mendoza, Samuel Lachino, Cheno Barajas, Juan Ramirez and Whitney Butler all scored goals for Columbia, which led 1-0 at halftime.
All told, the Bruins got off 28 shots, 19 of them on goal. Three of their goals were assisted (in order, by Demi Sanchez, Butler and Alex Villa) and one came off a penalty kick (by Ramirez).
"We played a very unselfish game," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles said. "Everyone played a team game that night. After Ridgefield (a 7-0 loss), we knew we had to start putting things togther again. We had talked about what (division leader) Ridgefield does and maybe we picked up on some of that."
CHS goalkeeper Carlos Mendoza, for his part, didn't see much action, thanks to solid play by the Bruins' midfielders and defenders. Only one shot came his way.
"We wanted to get back to controlling the ball through the midfield and supporting our offense from the back, and we did that pretty well," Knowles said. "It just came together from the start."
Columbia broke a scoreless deadlock in the 24th minute when Mendoza scored off a pass from Sanchez.
The Bruins tacked on four goals in the second half, starting in the 45th minute with a Butler-assisted goal by Lachino. Their next three goals came in the final 17 minutes, the last in the 78th minute off the foot of Butler via Villa.
Columbia High 5, at Woodland 0:
Samuel Lachino netted one goal and had three assists, and Whitney Butler scored twice to lead the Bruins past the Beavers last Thursday.
Columbia's first two goals came on its first two shot attempts, on almost identical plays. In the fifth minute, Mart¡n Mendoza set up Lachino for a goal. Lachino returned the favor three minutes later.
Woodland dominated the early going of the rematch, however, firing off the first three shots of the match. The first time the two teams met, CHS held Woodland without a single shot.
"This was a different kind of game," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles said. "Woodland really pressured. They right out of the box attacking. I don't think our guys expected that."
But the Bruins weathered the Beavers' assault and soon enough had the home team playing catch-up.
"What really sealed it for us was that we scored on our first two shots of the game," Knowles said. "They were almost mirror-image goals and gave us a lot of confidence."
The first half of action ended with Columbia in front, 3-0. It added to its lead in the second half, getting goals by Butler in the 47th and 70th minutes.
"I have the sense now that if we keep playing our game, if we stay focused on that, we're going to be in pretty good shape" through the second half of the Trico schedule, Knowles said.
Junior Varsity:
The Junior Bruins made their record 5-2 with victories over La Center and Woodland.
Roberto Rodriguez recorded a hat trick and Trenton Morneault and Baldemar Maya each scored two goals in the Junior Bruins' 7-1 win at La Center April 11.
Two days later, the Junior Bruins got first-half goals from Miguel Lujano and Jose Casta¤eda en route to a 2-1 victory at Woodland.
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