It was a dance party for the Bearcats on Tuesday night as they clipped the Wolves 3-2 in Tumwater to clinch the outright Evergreen Conference title with a couple regular season matches left.
It is the first league title that W.F. West (10-3, 9-2 EvCo) has been alone at the top in nearly 30 years. The celebration kicked off on the turn field at Black Hills High School and continued on the bus ride back to Chehalis.
“They are ecstatic. They’re dancing on the bus as we speak,” Bearcats head coach Allen Anderson said. “Guys played hard. I’m proud of the effort tonight.”
Against a feisty Wolves squad, all the goals came in the opening 40 minutes. Forward Adrian Jaimes kicked off the scoring with a goal in the 17th minute and broke a 1-1 tie with his second in the 34th minute.
One minute later, Alex Mathuzima laced one into the back of the net for a 3-1 W.F. West lead. Mathuzima, Luis Nino and Rafa Mendez all registered assists in the match. The Bearcats returned to their stout defense in the second half, not allowing Black Hills (2-10, 2-8) to net an equalizer.
The Wolves scored in the 27th and 40th minute. They’ll face Centralia on Friday night in a league contest while W.F. West will host Seton Catholic in a non-league match and the last home match of the regular season.
