CHS on a roll

They finished their non-league schedule last Friday with a 4-2 win over Montesano's Bulldogs.

Columbia quickly took control, applying offensive pressure that resulted in a 2-0 lead barely 12 minutes into the match.

Samuel Lachino beat teammate Sebastian Alvarez to a well-placed cross from Christian Rolly to give the Bruins the lead in the eighth minute.

About 10 minutes later, Rolly made it 2-0, scoring off a feed from Demetrio (Demi) Sanchez in front of the Montesano goal.

The Bruins increased their 2-0 halftime lead early in the second half when Dane Ueland put a cross on the foot of Shanti Gosman for CHS's third goal.

Montesano, which never got closer than two goals, scored for the first time in the 63rd minute. Talented striker Javier Moreno, held in check up until then, scored off a direct kick to make it 3-1.

But Rolly, who had the opportunity to play extended time at forward, countered for Columbia almost two minutes later, knocking in a pass off the head of Alvarez.

Montesano eventually halved that lead with a booming shot from 30 yards by Crosby Beckman in the 74th minute, but soon ran out of time.

Bruins Coach Peter Knowles ascribed his team's victory to "a great team effort."

"We had lots to be proud of," he said, "in what was probably our best all-around team effort" of the season, so far.

The coach's player of the match honors went to defenders Nick Patrick and Dane Ueland for their efforts in containing the playmaking Moreno.

Patrick, the team's captain, drew the primary defensive assignment of shadowing Moreno. Ueland, on the other side of the defensive lineup, helped pick up the slack that strategy created.

"Where Nick marked his man closely, Dane had to deal with lots of shifting defensive assignments, and support the open space in front of him," Knowles said.

CHS's coach also cited defenders Tony Hernandez, Whitney Butler and Braulio Garcia, and goalkeeper Juan Benavides for the contributions they made to CHS's "all-around solid defensive showing."

"Although we allowed two goals, they were both quality opportunities for Montesano," Knowles pointed out, adding, "There's a little defensive adjustment that could have prevented the opportunities from arising, but we'll work on that."

Overall, Montesano got off 13 shots against CHS's aggressive defense, while the Bruins got open for 20 shots at the Bulldogs' net.

"We passed to anyone on our team, and played selflessly through most of the game," Knowles noted. "That's what team soccer should be all about."

At Columbia High 5, Hockinson 1 --

The Bruins held on to a share of the Trico Division lead with the March 29 victory over the Hawks.

Columbia never trailed, building a 3-1 halftime advantage on a pair of goals by Demetrio Sanchez and another from Samuel Lachino.

Christian Rolly and Sebastian Alvarez each netted second-half goals as the Bruins won going away. Lachino and Whitney Butler each had a foot in two of CHS's five scoring shots.

"The team played very well on the offensive end, as Hockinson is a strong defensive team. Their players play very good individual defense, and they really packed the goal area whenever we pressed forward," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles said. "Just getting the ball through traffic was a challenge. So, to get five goals against them is a pretty big accomplishment."

He added: "It highlights what our offensive attack is capable of producing, especially when they're playing together as well as they were in this game."

Columbia led in the 13th minute on Sanchez's first goal, an unassisted effort that Knowles said "came after some good, solid pressure but nothing to show for it."

His second goal, late in the first half, followed by almost four minutes a scoring shot by Hockinson--the Hawks' first goal of the season and the first allowed by the Bruins since their season-opener.

Knowles said the second goal by his player of the match set the tone for the rest of the match in that "we didn't lose hope or let up."

"Our players came up big when we needed it," he noted.