Boys Soccer: Centralia Tigers stun T-Birds in EVCO 2A league opener

3/14/2023

Centralia 2, Tumwater 1

(Tumwater, WA) Centralia Tigers new head coach Noel Vazquez wasn’t sure how his new team would come out against the defending League Champion Tumwater, a team that advanced to the final 8 in the state tournament last year but he figured it would be a learning experience and a great measuring stick to where they are compared to the favorite to again win the EVCO 2A.

Vazquez figured there would be lots to focus on and work on after the match. Vazquez he figured getting all his players to buy in and believe they can compete at all levels. He also figured he would be making a goal to cut down on the number of goals they lost by against the T-Birds the 2nd time they face them later in the season.

Then it happened, first an 11th minute goal from Leo Perez off a re-directed corner kick into the left side of the goal through a crowd to make it impossible for T-Birds keeper AJ Heichelbech to see it until it was too late and the Tigers took the early lead on their 1st goal of the season.

Tumwater would have several shots on Centralia keeper Carlos Hernandez including a blistering blast by Gavin Cuoio that sailed just high over the crossbar so Centralia kept the shut-out in place. The T-Birds would finally find the back of the net when Perry Lowery substituted in with a little give and go took the perfect pass and shot across the goal from the right to the left and in the 25th minute it was all even at 1-1.

As the 2 teams began the 2nd half tied it was the T-Birds who came out with a furious attack on the Tiger defense firing shot after shot and clanging shots off the crossbar not once but twice. But in the end Hernandez had denied at least 9 shots plus the 2 off the crossbar and with 20 minutes to play the score was still 1-1.

Centralia’s defense had perked up and denied the T-Birds such free-wheeling shots when in the 75th minute on a free kick from midfield the ball was lobbed up by one of the Tiger attackers that landed to the right of the goal when another Tiger tried to center it and then a T-Bird defender tried to clear when Simba Osman got ahold of it and quickly fired it to the right of Tumwater’s 2nd half keeper Lukas Stuart for the go-ahead and winning shot.

Centralia is 1-0 now and will host Rochester on Friday. Tumwater drops to 0-1 in league and 0-2 for the year and will try to get their 1st win of the year at Black Hills on Thursday night.

Our Thorebeckes MVP’s went to Centralia’s keeper Carlos Martinez with 9 saves and just the 1 goal but Martinez kept the Tigers in the match with his efforts especially early in the 2nd half. Our Tumwater MVP was responsible for much of the scrambling that Hernandez had to do and goes to Gavin Cuoio.