Centralia's Alex Alvarenga (9) juggles the ball and tries to keep it from defenders Tuesday evening in Centralia.
Centralia's Julian Velazquez (9) makes a turn and takes the ball downfield Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Matthew Ethridge (19) celebrates a goal Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Head Coach Horst Malunat talks with his team Tuesday evening in Centralia.
Centralia's Head Coach Phil Strodemier rubs his eyes following the end of the first half Tuesday evening in Centralia.
Players fight for possession Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Matthew Ethridge (19) winds back and scores a goal Tuesday evening in Centralia.
Centralia's Alex Alvarenga (9) makes a turn and takes the ball downfield Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Eucario Contreras (2) makes a header over Centralia's Christian Rangel-Velazquez (7) Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's goal keeper Allen Contreras (1) makes a save Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Isaac Garibay (9) makes a turn and takes the ball downfield Tuesday evening in Centralia.
United's Gustavo Barragan (7) takes the ball downfield Tuesday evening in Centralia.
Centralia's Jose Pena attempts to steal the ball from United's Gustavo Barragan (7) as he takes the ball downfield Tuesday evening in Centralia.
It was a battle between Centrala and United on Tuesday, with neither team able to separate themselves in a 2-2 draw in a non-league boys soccer match at Tiger Stadium in Centralia.
Centralia’s Alex Alvarenga scored both goals for the Tigers, the first one in the 6th minute and the second one in the 24th minute to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first half.
United came back and cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime on a goal by Matthew Etheridge in the 26th minute on an assist from Isaac Garibay.
In the 43rd minute, Garibay scored the tying goal on a direct free kick.
“Second half was much better for us. We still need to finish our shots. Hopefully now that the preseason is over, we’re still undefeated but we haven’t won a game yet either,” United coach Horst Malunat said. “Every year is a new story and different things happen. I’m hoping that we’ll answer the questions to our finishing on Thursday.”
Centralia (1-1-1) hosts Evergreen on Thursday in a non-league game. United (0-0-4) begins league play on Thursday, hosting Stevenson at 6:30 p.m. in Winlock.
W.F. West and Mark Morris Play to Draw
LONGVIEW — The Bearcats and Monarchs battled for 80 minutes and couldn’t decide a winner in a 2-2 draw in a non-league boys soccer match here on Tuesday.
Mark Morris scored the only goal of the first half in the 12th minute by Rocael Vicente-Pacheco for a 1-0 advantage at halftime.
W.F. West’s Antheny Mendez-Leal tied the game in the 45th minute with an assist by Angel Hernandez.
The Monarchs once again took the lead in the 52nd minute, this time on a goal from Tino Cemulini. The Bearcats answered in the 66th minute with another goal by Mendez-Leal with an assist by Jairo Lima-Perez for the final tally of the game.
Alex Brummer started in net for the Bearcats and made eight saves in the first half. Cole Hinton played the second half and made three saves.
“It was kind of a weird day. We typically don’t play at five, we only had 24 minutes to warm up so we had to scramble to get going and were out of our normal routine. First half, we came out flat and didn’t have quite the energy I would like,” W.F. West coach Allen Anderson said. “We made some adjustments at halftime and came out and controlled the play the entire second half. It was the best 40 minutes we’ve played all season. It was really encouraging, we were finding wings, doing some of the things we’ve been working on in practice and it showed.”
W.F. West (0-1-3) hosts Kelso on Thursday in a non-league game.
Tenino Earns First Win Over Ilwaco
TENINO — Tenino’s Leo Lloyd scored two goals to help the Beavers earn their first win of the season 3-2 over Ilwaco in a 1A Evergreen League boys soccer game here on Tuesday.
Lloyd scored the only goal of the first half in the 30th minute on an assist from Zack Russell.
Ilwaco tied the game in the 44th minute, with Ethan Personius converting a penalty kick. Lloyd scored again in the 49th minute on an assist from Chris Ramez. Paydon Henderson tallied the third goal for Tenino on an assist by Salvador Ontiveros. The Beavers scored an own goal in the 79th minute but were able to hang on for the win.
Goalkeeper Devin Billings made five saves for Tenino.
“I thought we played really well. We’re just continuing to improve every time out I feel like,” Tenino coach Kevin Schultz said. “We passed the ball well today.”
Schultz also pointed out the performance of Nate Wood at the centerback position, saying he was communicating well and directing traffic smoothly for the Tenino defense. He also applauded the performance of Billings in net, saying he’s learning every game and did a great job for the Beavers.
Tenino (1-1-1, 1-0) travels to Elma on Friday for a league battle.
