Centralia's Taylor Smith fights for possession with Rochester's Staysha Fluetsch on Tuesday.
Rochester Amerika Jones (15) kicks the ball downfield against Centralia on Tuesday.
Centralia's Michelle Maldonado battles for a ball with Rochester's Jessa Lenzi on Tuesday in Rochester.
Centralia's Rebecca Demaris (9) boots the ball away from the Tigers' goal while keeper Lilyanna Babka (1) and Rochester's Staysha Fluetsch (8) look on.
Centralia's Riley Babka (14) and Rochester's Jessa Lenzi race for a loose ball Tuesday.
Rochester's Amerika Jones (15) looks for a pass against Centralia on Tuesday.
Sophomore forward Kaylei Clark found the back of the net twice as Rochester netted its first win of the season in a 3-2 defeat of Centralia at home Tuesday night.
The Warriors, who moved to 1-4 on the season, started the scoring in the 10th minute on a goal from sophomore forward Emma Wiss, who was assisted by senior midfielder Megan Haury. Haury was named the Woman of the Match by Rochester.
“A nice reward for the girl’s hard work,” Rochester coach Ken Matthews said. “We make progress every time we step on the field."
The Tigers, who are still searching for their first win and drop to 0-4 on the season, scored their first goal of the year in the 13th minute on an unassisted goal from freshman forward Anahi Corona.
Rochester answered back with back-to-back goals by Kaylei Clark later in the first half, unassisted in the 22nd minute and again in the 31st minute on an assist from Haury. Centralia’s senior defender Lola Montee capped the scoring off for the night in the 74th minute.
“We had a lot of good things happen,” Centralia coach Henry Gallanger said. “We had a lot of shots on goal, which is not typical for us. We’ve been working on moving the ball downfield and we saw that tonight.”
Gallanger praised sophomore Sarah Robbins for her performance in the middle of the field, and Corona for scoring the first goal of the season for the Tigers.
“It wasn’t what we wanted but we fought in the second half,” Gallanger said.
Centralia hosts Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Thunderbirds are undefeated and in first place in the conference with a 4-0 record after beating W.F. West 2-0 on Tuesday.
Rochester travels to Tumwater at 7 p.m. Thursday to face Black Hills.
The Thunderbirds came out on top in a matchup of the top two girls soccer teams in the Evergreen 2A Conference on Tuesday night, blanking the Bearcats 2-0.
Tumwater’s Makayla McGilvrey scored on a breakaway in the 14th minute, and Riana Geathers added the game’s final goal in the 67th minute.
W.F. West coach Allen Anderson called the match a good test for his team. Both squads entered Tuesday’s game with 3-0 records.
“We struggled a little bit handling the physicality of Tumwater,” he said. “They came out really physical, right off the bat, and I think it kind of got to us.”
The Thunderbirds held a 6-2 advantage in on-target shots.
“We didn’t get as many shots off tonight as we would have liked,” he said. “But today was a great learning experience for us, and it’s the kind of game that’s only going to make us get better.”
Midfielder Cameron Sheets played a solid game, Anderson added.
W.F. West (3-1) plays at Aberdeen on Thursday night.
