Riding the momentum from a recent victory over Tumwater, the W.F. West Bearcats clutched up at the right time to defeat Centralia 1-0 in Evergreen 2A Conference boys soccer action at Tiger Stadium on Monday.
Antheny Mendez-Leal scored the lone goal in the 71st minute off of a Jacob Ford cross. Centralia outshot the Bearcats by a large margin, getting off 17 attempts to the Bearcats’ six.
“That pass and goal was beautiful,” W.F. West coach Tino Sanchez said. “The boys played real tough and got good looks at the goal.”
The Bearcats lucked out in the first half, as the Tigers blatantly missed a penalty kick. However, that shouldn’t discount the work of Chehalis goalkeeper Daniel Ford. Ford had 12 saves in the winning effort. He received some strong support from the defensive back line, as well.
“Daniel was outstanding. That whole defense worked so hard to make things work out. I’m so happy for these boys.”
The victory marks the third win in a row and keeps the Bearcats’ postseason hopes alive for at least one more day. W.F. West (4-8-1, 4-6 league) and Centralia (6-7-1, 4-6 league) will now face off one more time in a loser-out, district play in game tonight, at Tiger Stadium.
