4/25/23
Black Hills 4, WF West 3 (OT)
(Chehalis, WA) One week ago, it looked like everyone knew what was going to happen in the Evergreen 2A Conference in terms of boys soccer. But here we are now with upset after upset and the latest one really shook everything up. It would be Black Hills this time around going on the road and knocking off the red hot WF West Bearcats in overtime by a score of 4-3.
Winners of two in a row with their most recent loss coming in PKs to Aberdeen, WF West was playing their best soccer of the season. On the other hand, Black Hills entered the match on a two-game losing streak and were outscored 8-0 in those two matches. But the Wolves came in with one goal and that was to work from start to finish. They had to put in some overtime but in the end it was all worth it.
Black Hills played the possession game in the early minutes but it wouldn’t take long for them to ramp up the aggression. Speedy forward Brady Mitchell was the focus of the attack and after having one run shut down, Mitchell got the opening he needed. A burst of speed from the senior got him by the last Bearcat defender and Mitchell cashed in on the breakaway with a 5th minute goal to get the Wolves on the board 1-0.
WF West would take control from there. Constant pressure started to wear down the Wolves defense but sophomore keeper Jonas Versaw came up with multiple saves to protect the clean sheet and the lead. That would be until the 20th minute. A chip into the 18-yard box by Israel Lopez Cruz was punched out by Versaw. However, Elvis Leal Perez was at the perfect spot and knocked the ball down and fired a shot into the open net to even the score at 1-1.
The score didn’t stay even for long. Jeremy Thompson had a really strong game for the Bearcats and in the 21st minute he would make his mark on the match. A run by the sophomore towards the endline left the backside of the goal wide open. Thompson threaded a pass through the defense right to Adrian Jaimes who just had to tap the ball in for the go-ahead goal and he did just that. Back-to-back quick goals gave the Bearcats a 2-1 lead.
It felt like that would be the score going into halftime but the Wolves would find the equalizer late in the half. Senior captain Shane Braz fired a shot from well outside the 18 and placed it perfectly in the 40th minute. The shot sailed over the top of the WF West keeper and in the waning seconds of the opening half, Black Hills tied the match once again at 2-2.
Early in the 2nd half, WF West had a chance to retake the lead. A handball inside the 18 gave the Bearcats a penalty kick which usually results in a goal. Keyword there is usually. Adrian Jaimes looked for his second goal, but once again Jonas Versaw came up with a big save denying the PK and keeping it all tied up.
Neither team got very many chances until the final 10 minutes of regulation. A miscommunication between Bearcat defenders gave Black Hills the opportunity they needed. Brady Mitchell again used his explosive speed and cut a pass into the middle of the 18. Two defenders thought that one another would clear it which resulted in neither clearing it. Instead, Jack Ellison slid in and sent the ball into the back of the net to give the Wolves the lead in the 71st minute 3-2.
WF West would answer with the fastest possible response. Off of the opening kickoff, the Bearcats put together a successful attack. Jeremy Thompson sent a ball out wide to Israel Lopez Cruz who cut it in and at a tough angle fired one over the Black Hills goalie to tie the match at 3-3 just a minute after Black Hills took the lead. That goal would ensure the match went to OT.
After a scoreless first five minutes of overtime, the teams flipped sides and Black Hills went on the attack. A perfect ball from Jace Brookerson found Brady Mitchell. Again, Mitchell played unselfish soccer and passed the ball towards the back post where Jack Ellison was right there to greet the ball. Ellison tapped in his second goal of the match and the game winner to give Black Hills the 4-3 win and put them in the drivers seat to secure the final playoff spot out of the Evergreen Conference.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the match was Jack Ellison of the Black Hills Wolves. Coming off the bench for an injured Shane Braz, Ellison scored two goals late in the match including the game winner in overtime.
While WF West outshot Black Hills 20-8, it would be the 11 saves by Jonas Versaw that got Black Hills to 7-7 and 5-5 in league play. The Wolves will look to wrap up a playoff spot on Friday night when they host Centralia at 7pm. WF West still has an opportunity to earn the #2 seed out of the EvCo despite dropping to 8-5 overall and 7-4 in league play. The Bearcats will look to right the ship in a nonleague match on Wednesday when they travel to Vancouver to take on Skyview.
If you want to watch the full replay of the match, click the link below to go straight to the on-demand replay. You can also watch all seven goals in the highlight playlist at the bottom of this page.
Highlight Playlist
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