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2A Prep Boys Soccer / Report

MEMORIAL STADIUM — Under the lights in cool, wind-swept conditions during a Civil War rivalry matchup between crosstown rivals, the R.A. Long boys soccer team turned in a dominant performance, overwhelming Mark Morris 8-1 in a 2A GSHL league contest.

Adrian Orozco helped fuel the attack with multiple assists, while Alex Wooden led the way with a hat trick as the Lumberjacks controlled the match from the opening minutes against the Monarchs on their shared home turf at Longview Memorial Stadium.

“When we’re moving like that, we’re tough to stop,” R.A. Long junior Adrian Orozco said. “We were moving the ball very quickly and communicating a lot.”

By the end of the evening nearly every Lumberjack had found an opportunity to take their best shot as the red and black attack posted 28 shots on goal in the contest. With bicycle kicks and other highlight reel sequences littered throughout the match the final stats only tell half of the story.

“We’ve got a lot of guys capable of creating opportunities through smart ball movement,” R.A. Long head coach Max Anderson noted.

R.A. Long wasted no time setting the tone and the Monarchs found themselves on the back foot for most of the match.

“They just have a lot of quality players,” Mark Morris head coach Luis Garcia said. “Their midfield is one of the better ones in the league, and their chemistry makes it difficult to defend.”

The latest victory over the Monarchs gave R.A. Long the season sweep in the Civil War this spring. The Lumberjacks defeated MM 6-0 back on March 19.

— VIDEO: R.A. Long’s Junior Valdivia scores on an indirect free kick inside the box during a Civil War matchup against Mark Morris on Monday, April 20, at Longview Memorial Stadium, extending the Lumberjack’s early lead in their 8-1 victory. / Video by Skyler Smith for Blast Zone Media

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2A Prep Boys Soccer / Report

THE STADIUM — The R.A. Long boys soccer team had revenge on its mind Thursday when it hosted Woodland for a 2A Greater St. Helens League match. After dropping their first meeting with the Beavers in a penalty kick shootout earlier this spring, the Lumberjacks made sure to put plenty of distance between themselves and their fellow sylvan pulverizers on the way to a 5-0 win in the rematch.

The score was different this time around, by a lot, which is exactly how the Jacks feel about themselves.

“That first match seems like a long time ago,” RAL head coach Max Anderson said. “Andres Orozco was gimping around on a sprained ankle, inexperienced players were just breaking into the lineup, and we didn’t have Anjel, Jaydon, and Junior. So even though we weren’t at full strength last night we’re a completely different team than we were at this time last month.”

Make no mistake, though, the Lumberjacks were still not at full strength last night. Sixto Soto was out of action for another school endorsed activity, Daniel Santiago was out of commission with an injury sustained Tuesday at Columbia River, and Biero Orozco checked in at about 75% of his normal self — but none of that mattered.

“The difference was R.A. Long finished their chances and we didn’t,” Woodland head coach Dave Tallbut said. “They had some really great set piece goals and well-placed shots from outside the penalty area.”

— VIDEO: R.A. Long’s Jayden Rowland (35) chips the goalkeeper, but Woodland’s Danery Villagran-Cifuentes (12) clears the ball to save a goal during a 2A GSHL match, Thursday, April 16, at Longview Memorial Stadium. The hometown Lumberjacks went on to win 5-0. / Video by Benjamin Hendrickson for BZM —

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Prep Boys Soccer / Roundup

Speranza’s brace leads Beavs over Monarchs

The Woodland boys soccer team was able to go into spring break with a pep in its step after shutting out Mark Morris 3-0 on Thursday, April 2, at Woodland High School.

In fact, several Beavers and Monarchs were already stretching their legs before the final whistle.

“Both teams had a number of players gone from our starting 11,” Woodland head coach Dave Tallbut said. “We started the match slow seeming like we were already on spring break.”

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Skyler Smith for BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

1A Prep Boys Soccer / Report

TOLEDO — The Toledo-Winlock United boys soccer team shook off a slow start and pulled away for a 6-1 win over Kalama during a non-league match on Wednesday at Hippi Stadium.

United struggled to generate early offense before connecting midway through the first half, creating chances through movement and spacing in the attacking third as the 1A Trico League affair pushed deeper into the evening.

“We started off not as strong as I thought we could,” United head coach Alan Conteras said. “But towards the middle of the game, we started connecting, finding opportunities, and once one fell in, the energy picked up, and we were able to put more away.”

And as the clock counted up, the springtime weather put on a show featuring nearly all of its offerings. Sun showers were interrupted by intermittent gales of sideways rain and crosscutting wind. Far off in the distance, a rainbow hinted at better things to come – but relief did not arrive in any of its forms for the Chinooks before the final whistle.

“It got sloppy last night. By the second half the kids were sliding,” Kalam head coach Mike Hill noted.

— VIDEO: Toledo-Winlock’s Jonathan Gonzalez Navarro takes a hard shot to the legs and is sent to the pitch by Kalama’s Lecsan Lopez to draw a penalty kick, then converts in the 68th minute during a 1A Trico League match on Wednesday, April 1, at Hippi Stadium. / Video by Skyler Smith for Blast Zone Media —

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Prep Boys Soccer / Roundup

The R.A. Long boys soccer team leaned hard on its defense and let the leg of Beiro Orozco do the rest in a 1-0 win over Hudson’s Bay in 2A Greater St. Helens League play, Tuesday, at Kiggins Bowl.

“Beiro Orozco scored a majestic goal in the 66th minute, streaking to a loose ball inside the six-yard box,” RAL head coach Max Anderson said.

It was the only moment of the match where everything fell into place for the Lumberjacks, even though they managed to dominate possession for most of the night.

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2A Prep Boys Soccer / Photo Gallery

MEMORIAL STADIUM — The Civil War rivalry took a one-sided turn Thursday night when R.A. Long overwhelmed Mark Morris in a 6-0 victory, controlling the match from whistle to whistle in rainy conditions at Longview Memorial Stadium.

Adrian “Beiro” Orozco led RAL with one goal and three assists, while Jesus Pelayo-Cuevas added a pair of goals in the win.

The victory was the first in league play for the Lumberjacks, and brought them back up to .500 early in the season. But it wasn’t the score on the board or any percentage in a column that had the Jacks’ brass most excited.

“I was most pleased with how we played,” RAL head coach Max Anderson said. “It wasn’t undisciplined rat ball. Passing and movement was crisp. It’s exactly how we’ll need to play if we want to start stringing victories together.”

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Prep Boys Soccer/ Roundup

The R.A. Long and Woodland boys soccer teams needed extra time and then some in order to determine a winner in the 2A Greater St. Helens League opener between the teams on Tuesday night in the ol’ Forest City.

The visiting Lumberjacks wound up knotted at 1-1 at the end of regulation and could not break the tie in the short overtime periods, with the Beavers eventually prevailing in the penalty kick shootout to end the night.

“R.A. Long was dangerous on aerial set pieces throughout the match and created several quality chances, but our backline held firm along with a little luck from the Beaver Den,” Woodland head coach Dave Tallbut said.

The Lumberjacks were looking forward to a little late night rivalry action on Thursday in the Civil War against Mark Morris, but start time for that contest was bumped up to 6 p.m. at Longview Memorial Stadium after the junior varsity contest was scratched from the docket.

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Prep Boys Soccer / Roundup

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information for the R.A. Long vs Mark Morris match on Thursday night. The Civil War is now slated to start at 6 p.m.

Kolaski, Aberle lead Scots to road win over MM

The Kelso boys soccer team picked up a pair of goals from Taylor Aberle and Seth Kolaski in a 6-2 non-league win over Mark Morris last Friday night at Longview Memorial Stadium

It was a refreshing turnaround for the Hilanders after a narrow loss to R.A. Long at home on opening night. As for the Monarchs, it was a disappointing early season showing for a team that’s looking to make make big strides on the pitch this season.

“Came out flat, no sense of urgency,” MM head coach Luis Garcia said. “Credit to Kelso they came out ready to play and they capitalized on their opportunities.”

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Prep Boys Soccer / Roundup

Lumberjacks win ‘water-logged’ match with Hilanders

The opening night of action for the R.A. Long and Kelso boys soccer teams was so blustery it left Lumberjacks head coach Max Anderson looking for ways to dry off the stat sheet until the sun came back around.
“(I’m) still water-logged,” Anderson said as the rooster prepared to retire from a soggy morning shift.

And those stats were favorable in the morning light, after the Jacks hung on for a 2-1 non-league victory over the Hilanders at Schroeder Field on Wednesday evening.

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Prep Girls Soccer / All-League

The calendar has flipped to winter sports season but it’s not too late to recognize the top performers from the assorted leagues within the sprawling confines of The Blast Zone.

Toledo claimed a Central 2B League championship and returned to the state tournament, leading to a pile of postseason awards.

Woodland, Mark Morris, and R.A. Long traded punches all season long in the 2A Greater St. Helens League before bowing out at the district tournament. And Kelso kept things interesting all the way down to the wire in a tough 3A GSHL slate, earning one of the top awards in the area along the way.

Kalama and Castle Rock played a memorable late season match, but had a hard time getting a leg up in the 1A Trico League. Meanwhile, Toutle Lake and Ilwaco took their lumps but never quit fighting, but Winlock was forced to fold up its tent midseason after running short on players.

And over in Oregon Country, the newfangled Rainier-Clatskanie-Knappa Columbian-Tiger-Loggers made history by qualifying fo the postseason for the first time in co-op program history. However, since Blast Zone Media has still not been able to reach a representative for RCK, we don’t know which locals were honored for the contributions on the pitch.

But we’ve got everybody else.

Subscribe and keep scrolling to find out which local players were selected as the best of the best in their respective leagues.

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Prep Girls Soccer / Report

The Toledo girls soccer team was about a dozen minutes away from celebrating on someone else’s pitch and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the 1B/2B State Tournament. Instead, the Riverhawks watched a one goal lead turn into a 2-1 season-ending loss at Highland.

“For 68 minutes we were up and dominating,” Toledo head coach Horst Malunat said. “We just made a couple of bobbles with the ball and they took advantage at the end.”

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Prep Girls Soccer / Report

TENINO — Rewind the clock, turn back the calendar, and dial up your flux capacitor because it was back to the future for the Toledo girls soccer team on Saturday when it fell 1-0 to Napavine in a penalty kick shootout for the 1B/2B District IV championship on the black top turf in Tenino.

Yes, you’re reading that correctly. For the second straight season the Riverhawks dropped the District title tilt by the same score, to the same foe, on the same aesthetically curious artificial grass.

“Scoring in regulation would have helped,” Toledo head coach Horst Malunat said. “We didn’t have a good final pass in the attacking third. We did some individual things, so we didn’t have those connections that we’ve had agains other teams.”

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Riverhawks net District title rematch with Napavine

It was like deja vu all over again when Toledo faced off with Adna for a spot in the 1B/2B District IV championship game, Thursday, at Chinook Stadium in Kalama. And just like last year it was the Riverhawks who emerged victorious, this time tallying a 3-0 win over the Pirates in the semifinals.

“That was probably one of our best, complete games,” Toledo head coach Horst Malunat told The Chronicle. “I am pretty happy with the result.”

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Coltin’s score sends Beavers over Wolves

The Woodland girls soccer team must have a team rule against blowouts, or it simply doesn’t believe in them.

The Beavers were able to come out on the bright side of a nail-biter, Tuesday, with a 1-0 win at Black Hills in a 2A District IV Tournament loser-out contest

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Beavers nearly notch upset over T-Birds

Woodland put itself in position to throw a monkey wrench into the 2A District IV Girls Soccer Tournament on Saturday, but had to settle for a heartbreaking loss in a PK shootout at Tumwater instead. The Beavers officially lost 2-1, after dropping the shootout by a count of 5-3.

The Beavers trailed 1-0 at halftime, but managed to find the equalizer in the second half.

That goal for the guests was delivered by Ainsley Flanagan, with the assist going to Ruby Ingle.

“Our back line has been stellar all year,” first-year Woodland head coach Jeff Flanagan said. “Verity Ingle is a piece of that defensive line that we moved to forward in the second half to generate some offense… She really helped get our team in an attack mindset and it really set the tone and we had them on their heels.”

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Sully scores twice for Jills in do-or-die shutout

THE STADIUM — The R.A. Long girls soccer team earned at least two more games in the postseason with a 2-0 win at home over Centralia, Thursday, in a pigtail playoff game.

“I think that they rose to the occasion and played for each other,” first-year R.A. Long head coach Angel Orozco said. “They still want to keep going and they showed it last night. They’re not ready to call it quits yet.”

The contest was a rematch of an early season matchup between the two teams up in the Hub City, which the Lumberjills won 2-1. And who scored all four of those goals against the Tigers this season?

They belong to Josie Sully.

The sophomore attacker has consistently utilized her speed and strong leg in order to put the heat on opponents this season. And the do-or-die contest against Centralia at Longview Memorial Stadium was no different.

“She’s just a sophomore and she plays with no fear,” first-year R.A. Long head coach Angel Orozco said. “When she’s confident it really, really shows.”

— R.A. Long’s Josephine “Josie” Sully (11) dribbles past the Centralia defense and scores the Lumberjills’ first goal of the night in a 2-0 pigtail playoff victory, Thursday, Oct. 30, at Longview Memorial Stadium. / Video by Ben Hendrickson for Blast Zone Media —

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Riverhawks drop Loggers; take C2BL title by one point

The Central 2B League could hardly have been tighter at the top this season. Three teams entered the final day with realistic dreams of a league championship, but it was Toledo who managed to claim the C2BL title outright with a 1-1 draw at Onalaska, Wednesday.

After the final whistle the Riverhawks were as surprised as anyone to be celebrating their first-ever league championship as an independent program. That’s because Toledo head coach Horst Malunat told his team they had to win the game outright in order to be crowned champs at the end.

“I wanted to win the match, so I didn’t tell them,” Malunat noted. “In the end, we won league by one point. When I told them afterward, they all just went nuts.”

The last time Toledo won a league title in girls soccer was 2005. Back then, the Riverhawks mascot hadn’t been dreamt up yet, and the program was combined with Winlock.

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Ingle sisters send Beavers over MM in shutout

The Woodland girls soccer team came to Longview Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon and didn’t give an inch in a 2-0 win over Mark Morris in an important 2A Greater St. Helens League tilt.

The Monarchs entered the match trailing Woodland by one game in the league standings as teams jockey for playoff position down the home stretch. But a pair of goals by the Ingle sisters, plus a stout defensive effort, left the Beavers on top in the end.

The match was knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime, and Mark Morris was looking to get back into the black for the week after falling to Washougal but defeating Hudson’s Bay.

“My keeper Abigail Bailey had at least five saves,” said MM head coach Shilah Nickerson. “I was really impressed with the play from Kiki Makaiwi and Liv Lopez.”

But the Monarchs couldn’t win the dam building contest against the Beavers, and eventually the visitors broke through.

— Woodland’s Verity Ingle (3) scores the Beavers’ second goal of the game, assisted by Brookynn Huffman (13), on the way to a 2-0 win over Mark Morris, Saturday, Oct. 25, at Longview Memorial Stadium. / Video by Ben Hendrickson for Blast Zone Media —

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Watkins, Lassies fend off Plainsmen in league tilt

The Kelso girls soccer team remained undefeated in 3A Greater St. Helens League play with a 4-2 win over Evergreen, Tuesday, on Schroeder Field.

Macy Watkins scored a goal and assisted on another for the Lassies, while Mikalah Boucher tallied a pair of assists in the victory.

Kelso was able to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission, with all four goal arriving in a five minute span. Three of those scores were tallied over just two minutes of action, including a pair of goals in the 17th minute alone.

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Prep Girls Soccer / Roundup

Sully, Lumberjills lock in at Hudson’s Bay

The R.A. Long girls soccer team picked up important points in the 2A Greater St. Helens League race last week with a 4-0 win over Hudson’s Bay at Longview Memorial Stadium.

“The girls played the best 15 minutes I’ve seen them play the whole season,” first-year RAL head coach Angel Orozco said. “It’s moments like that that make it all worth it.”

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