VANCOUVER — The boys from Winlock and Toledo took their time here Thursday but ultimately found a way to clinch the 1A TriCo League soccer championship with a 1-0 win over Seton Catholic.
“It was a very competitive match,” said United coach Horst Malunat.
Malunat noted that it was a rare game on field turf for his team, which contributed somewhat to their slow start. As a result the game remained knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime.
“They dominate the first half. All of their shots except for two were in the first half. They probably should have scored to be honest with you. We were kind of flat,” added Malunat. “The second half was our half.”
United came out of the intermission with a newfound energy and promptly fired a near miss shot off of the crossbar. With their offense finally working properly United finally got on the scoreboard with a goal by Andreas Malunat in the 64th minute that was assisted by Thomas Ethridge.
United managed eight shots in the game. Their goaltender, Alan Contreras, was able to knock down all 12 shots by Seton Catholic.
“Alan got us the shutout and the whole defense stepped up,” said coach Malunat. “The guy that really stepped up in the middle was Isaac Garibay. It was probably one of his best games of the season I think.”
After defeating King’s Way Christian 13-0 on Tuesday, Malunat noted that his team had a difficult time adjusting to the quality of their opponent on Thursday. Seton Catholic sits in second place in the TriCo League with a record of 8-2 in league.
“It’s hard to transition from playing a not a very good opponent to one that can beat you,” Malunat explained.
United (10-0-4, 10-0 league) will play at Castle Rock on Tuesday.
