2B Girls Soccer: Loggers Claim South Division Title With PK Win Over Kalama

LEAGUE CHAMPS: Onalaska Battled With Kalama at Home Wednesday for the South Division Crown, Edging the Chinooks in Penalty Kicks

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By Jordan Nailon / The Daily News

KALAMA — The Loggers showed up to the big stadium on the hill, stepped on to the shiny turf beneath the bright lights and proceeded to play their particular brand of soccer. It’s a style that’s been honed for years on muddy fields and appears indifferent to the spotlight, but on Wednesday they pulled the act off with aplomb with a 1-0 win over Kalama that was settled by penalty kicks and handed Onalaska the South Central 2B League title.

“I think we outplayed them. They had a few breakaways, but that’s just the way it is,” Kalama coach John Bates said.

Whereas Kalama is keen to utilize their speed with precision passing and quick-hitting vectors from the wings of the keeper box, Onalaska is more likely to drop a shoulder and drive a defender headlong into the net before they’d ever back down. As a result Kalama players could be found prone on the turf throughout the game, much to the chagrin and protestations of Bates.

In the 75th minute, that physicality came to a head when Onalaska’s Callie Lawrence drew a yellow card after winning one more collision near midfield. But there’s a method to Onalaska’s madness and they know in their bones that a bruising rendition of the beautiful game is their best bet for finding sustained success on the pitch.

After holding on for dear life to close out a scoreless first half in which Kalama always seemed one fortunate bounce away from breaking the seal on the goal for good, Onalaska found a more comfortable pace in the second half. Sure, they traded a few spirited runs up the sideline with the Chinooks, but the Loggers were mostly content to trade boots and blows in the center of the pitch until the cows came home.

“We had kind of figured out what their game plan is. So we didn’t worry so much about always getting the ball, but more about just slowing them down,” Onalaska coach Chris Van Clifford said. “We weren’t so worried about them making all of those fast passes, I mean, you can’t stop them from doing that. But there were times when Kalama was passing to each other and the ball was actually moving away from our goal.”

As far as Bates is concerned, the Loggers weren’t honing in on any sort of magic spell or secret recipe for success. They're just good at gumming up the gears.

“We know what they’ve got, it’s just out and in, out and in, out and in, that’s all they play. And then they pack it in,” Bates said. “It’s just that right pass and that right free ball, it never came. Plus when we did get chances, that keeper, she saved them. We should have been up 3-or-4 nil.”

That keeper, her name is Alexa Cleveland-Barrera, and she only becomes more formidable between the bars as frustration for the other team mounts and as stakes grow higher.

“She is hands down the best goalkeeper in the District, so having her back there is awesome. She cleans up whatever gets through,” Van Clifford said.

With a bit of momentum on their side, and Cleveland-Barrera in the box, the Loggers were feeling good about their chances when regulation time ended and the game advanced to penalty kicks. Fresh off of a loss to Toledo in PKs, the Loggers were eager to get that bad taste out of their mouth. And, after picking up that yellow card down the stretch, it was Lawrence who wound up with the last, and loudest, laugh.

In the shootout Savannah Gifford and Dylan Zigler found the back net on their kicks for Onalaska first, but those were negated by fruitful attempts from Josie Brandenburg and Melanie Martinez for Kalama. So when Lawrence knocked her attempt through and Cleveland-Barrera put the ensuing kick from Kalama in a bear hug, it was the girls from Gritville, USA who wound up celebrating on the Chinooks hifalutin home turf.

“I think the girls just kind of felt the energy of the game and knew they could do it so they just kept working, and working and working,” Van Clifford said. “Besides our goalkeeper, they pretty much all had to do it. There was no way for anyone to slack off. They all had to be on point and they all did.”

As the No. 1 seed from the South, Onalaska is slated to host Napavine on Saturday in a crossover match at 2 p.m.. Meanwhile, Kalama will host Raymond-South Bend and Toledo will hit the road to play Ocosta on the same day, at the same time.

Adna wrapped up an undefeated regular season Wednesday to claim the North C2BL title, but Van Clifford doesn’t know if that cakewalk will be conducive to success once the two conferences collide.

“I don’t know if Adna really wants to see our half of the bracket,” the Loggers’ coach said.

Cardinals Eliminated from Postseason

By The Chronicle staff

Winlock didn’t just need a win at home over Stevenson Wednesday in its regular-season finale. The Cardinals, who lost to Stevenson 4-0 earlier this season, needed a five-goal victory to beat a tiebreaker over the Bulldogs, then beat them again, to secure the fourth and final seed in the South Division.

It wasn’t meant to be. Winlock fell 2-1 to Stevenson in penalty kicks to end their season. It was a tough loss for the Cardinals, who held the Bulldogs without a shot on goal for the entire first half. Maggie Maddox scored the lone goal for the Cardinals in the 69th minute.



“We should have had them,” Winlock coach Brian Ziese said. “We just could not find the net. It’s a bummer but we had a chance, so it made it nice for the seniors. I told them, ‘four years and it paid off. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted but you gave yourselves a chance.’”

Indians Wipe Out Ducks

Toledo put on a scoring display Wednesday at home, dousing the Ducks in a 7-0 blowout that gave the Indians their second-straight victory.

“Every senior night, we always go out there and give the seniors a win for their last home game,” Toledo coach Noel Vazquez said.

Vazquez gave a shout out to the five seniors, Grace Tauscher, Chloe Nyberg, Keyline Plancarte, Alora Barret and Haley Anderson for helping the Loggers advance to the state tournament last year for the first time in school history.

The Indians improve to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in league play and will take the No. 3 seed into the playoffs with a matchup at the North Division’s No. 2 seed Ocosta at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Against Toutle Lake, Jazzy Zarate opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 10th minute, followed by her assist to Briza Gallegos just two minutes later to make it 2-0. After a couple moves on a defender, Marina Smith knocked one in during the 14th minute, followed by Gallegos’ second goal two minutes later off an assist from Rose Dillon.

Smith scored her second goal in the 19th minute from Dillon’s second assist to make it 5-0 at the break. Gallegos scored her third goal in the 46th minute, then three minutes later, Dillon notched her first goal of the night. Haley Anderson scored in the 61st minute off Dillon’s third assist to close out the scoring at 8-0. Daphnie Bybee recorded three saves on the night.

Now the Indians prepare for Ocosta on Saturday, a team they’ve split games against these past few years.

“Ocosta is a very good team,” Vazquez said. “They’re always extremely athletic, fast and I have a lot of respect for their coach.”

Adna Blanks Forks

The Pirates had no trouble dealing with Forks again, shutting out the Spartans for the second time this season, this time a 10-0 victory at home Wednesday.

The Pirates secured the North Division title last week and remain unbeaten at 8-0. Adna will now host its opening-round playoff matchup against Stevenson, the South Division’s No. 4 seed, at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Against Forks, Madi Stark opened the scoring in the 23rd minute on a penalty kick. One minute later, Keaton Dowell scored on a corner kick, and two minutes after that, Macy Kalnoski scored the first of her three goals on an assist from Joey Swenson, followed by another in the 31st minute off an assist from Sadie Burdick to make it 4-0 at the half.

Swenson scored the first of her two goals in the 41st minute, and again in the 45th on an assist from Summer White. Faith Wellander knocked one in during the 50th minute from an assist by Presley Smith.

Kalnoski scored her third goal in the 54th minute from an assist by Swenson, then Grace Beaulieu scored in the 77th and Leslie Davies in the 78th to make it 10-0.

Tigers Can’t Keep Up With Wildcats

Napavine knew it was going to have its hands full with the North Division’s No. 2 seed, Ocosta, and the Tigers were unable to keep up in a 7-0 defeat at home Wednesday.

The good news is the Tigers have already locked up a spot in the playoffs with the North Divison’s No. 4 seed. That means they will play at Onalaska, the South Division champion, at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the opening round of the playoffs.

Against Ocosta Wednesday, the Tigers’ lone senior, Rissa Luurs, was injured while sliding for a ball. Freshman Madison Lopes stepped in, recorded four saves and shutout the Wildcats for the final 15 minutes. Assistant coach Chris Tarabochia commended Lily Marcial for her strong performance at outside back.

“She was playing calm, gathered and she found teammates downfield,” Tarabochia said.

He also gave a shout out to Danie Tupuola who gave a massive effort on the night, as well as Lisa Cruz.