WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High School (CHS) boys soccer team competed in the 2026 WIAA District 4-1A tournament last week, beating Montesano High School 5-2 on May 12 at home, losing 1-0 to Raymond/South Bend High School on May 14 and losing 2-1 to Elma High School on May 16 in Tenino, Washington.
The losses meant the Bruins’ season ended shy of the 2026 WIAA 1A boys state soccer tournament. The Bruins (14-3-1) started hot against the Bulldogs (11-6-2), behind eighth-grader Estiven Hernandez Pena’s two first-half goals. Montesano scored its first goal with less than 20 minutes left in the first half, but the Bruins responded as senior Isaac Reynoso scored with 15 minutes left to make it 3-1. The Bruins got another first-half goal from senior Quinn Harty with under 13 minutes to play.
Montesano started the second half strong with a goal from sophomore Peter Bruland to make it 4-2 Bruins with 27 minutes left. Bruin junior Anderson Hernandez Pena scored the final goal to seal the deal for Columbia with three minutes left.
Things were different for the Bruins in round two against the Ravens (17-1-1), with a defensive-themed game leading to a 0-0 halftime score. Raymond/South Bend scored the only goal with 3:20 left in the game.
The Bruins had another close game against the Elma Eagles (15-3-2), as things came down to the wire. Columbia struck first with an own-goal, leading 1-0 at half. Elma powered back with two second-half goals and fought off the Bruin attack to seal the deal.
Bruin goalkeeper Ricardo Cortez finished with three saves in his final game for the Bruins.
Bruin head coach Gio Magana said: “I just want to say I am proud of the season our team had and thank you to our 12 seniors who fought hard all season long, as well as setting a good standard for the younger generation.Thank you to our community for always supporting us, rain or shine, home or away. We truly have the best fans.”
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