Timing is everything

The win ended a three-match losing streak for Columbia High, which improved to 1-3 in league and 3-5 overall.

"It was a great game," said Bruins Coach Peter Knowles. "We played very well. It would've driven me nuts if we had lost 1-0 because we really dominated."

The Bruins outshot the Beavers, 24-10, en route to the victory, led by England's six shots on goal.

CHS junior Daniel Granados, who attempted five shots, almost gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation, but his header deflected off the head of a Woodland defender and over the crossbar.

Midway through the second half, Woodland had its best scoring opportunity when one of its players was awarded a penalty kick after being tripped inside the penalty box.

The one-on-one shot against CHS freshman goalkeeper Samuel Lachino sailed wide right, however.

"The guy just flat-out missed it," Knowles said.

Reprieved, Columbia High went on the attack.

"We were down in their end most of the last 15 minutes," Knowles said. "Something had to give, one way or the other, because the pressure was mounting."

But Woodland (1-1, 1-5) held on to force sudden-death overtime.

In the third minute of OT, freshman Tony Hernandez sent a long ball down the right side to Garcia, who froze a defender with a fake to clear himself for a crossing shot.

"We had three guys coming down to support (Garcia), so he had three targets to choose from," Knowles noted. "Braulio hit a nice cross and Mitchell just buried it. I can't remember us winning on a sudden-death goal."

Knowles attributed the victory to the Bruins' more aggressive and patient approach to setting up their offense.

"A lot of our guys really stepped it up and started playing the ball harder, and with a lot more thought," he explained. "They were looking at their options instead of just kicking the ball around and reacting to the defense."

Knowles singled out junior Erik Lind and freshman Marci Garcia for doing a good job of controlling the midfield and and creating scoring opportunties for their teammates.

Defensively, Hernandez and seniors Justin and Tyler Vance stood out.

"Our whole defense did better because we spent all of Wednesday's practice working on defense," Knowles said. "We were able to walk kids through their roles and responsibilities, and they showed they're starting to get it by the way they played."

Montesano 5, at Columbia High 0 --

The Bruins suffered their second straight 5-0 shutout at home on April 8, despite firing 23 shots at the Bulldogs' goal.

"We had lots of chances, but something always stopped us from scoring," Bruins Coach Peter Knowles noted. "We stayed with them the whole way; we just couldn't finish."

Senior Ramon Reynoso and junior Miguel Juarez each had five shots on goal. Junior Daniel Granados and freshman Demetrio Sanchez attempted four apiece.

Freshman goalie Samuel Lachino had eight keeper saves, including a stop on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, with CHS trailing 4-0.

Montesano took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Javier Moreno converted a bicycle kick off a pass from his brother, Harold.

"That was just a beautiful goal to watch," Knowles said. "Those kinds of shots are hard to defend if the guy sets it up right. He leaned back and let it rip. The only way you can stop a shot like that is to step up and pressure, and we didn't do that. That's what hurt us all night."

A failure to closely mark Montesano's Joe Franklin in the 18th minute resulted in a goal from 20 yards out and a 2-0 lead going into the half.

Franklin put Montesano on the board again, 13 minutes into second-half action, when he lofted a 30-yard shot over the top of Lachino.

The Bulldogs added goals in the 62nd and 64th minutes, with the last coming when Monte's Joel Bernheine hooked a corner kick into the goal.

"That last one was their only `soft' goal," Knowles noted.