TOLEDO — Christoph Danger provided the shot in the arm for the Toledo/Winlock United boys soccer team in the first half on Wednesday night.
He doubled the energy late in the second half that put the match away.
Three goals in a six-minute span turned a 1-1 contest into a rout and United came away with a 4-2 triumph over Onalaska at Toledo High School in a Class 1A Trico League affair. It marked the first time the two teams met on the pitch.
And there were plenty of connections.
Luis Magana and Alan Contreras – the head coach and assistant coach for the Loggers – were under the guidance of United’s co-head coach Horst Malunat. Contreras was the starting goalkeeper for a state tournament team and Magana was an assistant.
“Christoph was our red bull in this game,” Malunat admitted.
Magana feels it could be the start of a rivalry.
“I was real excited,” he said.
Danger broke the tie with a breakaway goal in the 62nd minute off a counter-attack. Then the floodgates opened for United. Mateo Leon-Contreras and Junior Villaba found the back of the net on breakaway chances in the 65th and 68th minute, respectively.
United opened up the middle when holding possession and took advantage out wide on counterattacks.
“We were trying to play a tight, possession game and dribble around them,” Malunat said. “I think they outworked us in the first half. We had to adjust to the weather and put pressure on them.”
It was a clunky opening 40 minutes for United (2-1, 1-1 Trico). It had several chances to break the game open early, whether it was another touch inside the penalty box or a shot just wide of the net.
Come the 20th minute, Danger shot a slow-roller from the left side of the field, past a couple Loggers defenders and into the bottom right corner for an early 1-0 cushion. United pitched a first half shutout down to its third goalkeeper and only a couple seniors in the back line.
United will hit the road to take on Stevenson on Friday.
"We're in the hunt for a to-four maybe give spot,” Malunat said.
Onalaska (0-2, 0-2) saw eighth grader Aksel Iverson score the first goal in program history in the 56th minute from just outside the 18-yard box. Noland Brady, who was all over the wings taking one-on-one opportunities, recorded a penalty kick in extra time of the second half.
It was a positive progression for Magana afterwards after losing to La Center 7-0 in the season opener.
“We knew this game was going to be competitive," Magana said.
The Loggers will also hit the road versus Columbia (White Salmon) on Friday night. One of the areas Magna is focusing on his communication from the weekend in the, back.
