HS Soccer: Napavine Fends off Onalaska, Takes Control of Central 2B League

10/23/24

Napavine 2, Onalaska 1

(Onalaska, WA) Only two teams in the Central 2B League remained unbeaten in league play entering Wednesday night and they would meet as the Napavine Tigers traveled to take on the Onalaska Loggers. With identical league records of 6-0 and only two league matches remaining after the Wednesday night showdown, both the Tigers and Loggers would attempt to seize control of their fate in the battle for the league title. Whoever earned the win would just need to win one of their final two league matches to take home the league crown and earn the top seed in the district tournament.

First Half

Before the match got underway, Onalaska honored their two seniors as Yuliana Escalera and Sylvie Little got to celebrate their Senior Night after incredible careers with the Loggers.

When the match began, Onalaska came out as the aggressor, pushing the ball into their attacking third and trying to strike early and put the Tigers on their heels out of the gate. Napavine would shutdown the attacks as Clara Fay, Maya Kunkel, Grace Pancake, and Ellie Gilbert did a great job on the back line keeping everything away from keeper Taylen Evander. Kaiyah Sandridge and Randi Haight led the initial charge for Ony but yielded no results.

Napavine would then get some pressure on the Onalaska defense. The Gallagher duo of Haley and Jenna got some good runs in and in the 7th minute it would pay off. After the initial shot was knocked down by Logger keeper Emily Hicks, Haley Gallagher followed the shot as it spilled back out. With Hicks being forced to come off her line, Gallagher would have a golden opportunity and pushed the ball by the freshman goalie. The follow-up was executed perfectly and gave Napavine the initial 1-0 lead.

Onalaska continued to get some good pressure as Leighton Underhill and Yuliana Escalera began to get more involved in the attack. Kate Zandell was a great transition setter for Onalaska as Kiley Talley led the defense. Hannah Fay would begin to have more success for Napavine in the midfield while Hayden Kaut also played more of a balanced role than we have seen this season.

In the 30th minute, Napavine earned the first corner of the match. Haley Gallagher would set the ball up to take the corner and in a sneaky move, rolled it up just off the line after she set the ball. That made the ball live and Hannah Fay sprinted out to it. Fay rolled the ball to the right a little bit more to get a better angle. She then fired a perfectly placed strike into the side of the net for Napavine’s second goal. The trick play put the Tigers in a great spot at halftime with a 2-0 lead.

Second Half

Needing a spark in the second half, Onalaska’s defense began to push further up the field to try to smother the ball into their attacking third. Maci Reid and Sylvie Little were crucial to this on the sides on defense and did a great job in keeping the ball on the other half of the field.

In the 54th minute, a beautiful play brought the Loggers back to life. A nice pass from Randi Haight to Leighton Underhill gave the Loggers a run up the left side of the field. Underhill would then somehow find a way to thread a pass through multiple defenders to Kaiyah Sandridge. The one-on-one opportunity for Sandridge against the keeper would be cashed in on for the Loggers. Sandridge delivered a perfect strike and got Ony on the board, trailing 2-1.

Still needing that last goal for an equalizer, Onalaska continued to try to push the pace. Napavine would make a defensive adjustment as Hannah Fay and Maya Kunkel followed Sandridge around the field to keep her pinned between the two Tigers. That seemed to slow down the Onalaska attack and allowed Napavine to possess the ball more and more with their defense and wings.

While they would get some nice attacks going, Emily Hicks was dialed in and prevented Napavine from getting any breathing room. With time winding down, Onalaska would get one last look late in the match. An attempted long ball into the 18-yard box would just be too strong however as it went across the endline for a goal kick. That would be the last gasp for the Loggers as the final whistle blew and Napavine celebrated a huge 2-1 victory over Onalaska.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the match went to Haley Gallagher for Napavine. Not only did Gallagher do a great job in following a shot for the first Tiger goal, but she also led the trick corner for the Tigers to earn herself an assist too. The senior had a hand in both goals for Napavine to help them take firm control of the Central 2B League heading into the final week of the regular season.

The win moves Napavine to 11-2 overall and 7-0 in league play. The Tigers need to win just one of their two remaining league matches to win the league title and they will look to do that on Monday when they visit Toutle Lake at 7pm. Onalaska drops to 9-4-1 overall and 6-1 in the C2BL. The Loggers will not dwell on this one for too long as they attempt to gain some momentum back on Monday at 6pm when they host Ilwaco.

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