Josh Madrigal hadn’t been in net for either of the Bearcat’s first three shootouts of the season.
He had always deferred to Cayden Page, the other W.F. West keeper that he’s split time with over the course of the season, saying that he always had all the confidence in the world in him.
On Thursday, though, in the biggest game of the season, it was Madrigal coming through with two of the biggest saves in program history.
“It was my time to shine today,” Madrigal said with a smile. “I’m at a loss for words … It’s just a lot to take in.”
Madrigal’s second save preceded Rafael Mendez’s game-winning conversion, one that lifted W.F. West to a 1-0 win (5-4 in PKs) over Hockinson and put them into the state tournament for the third time in school history.
“They stuck together as a team really well through that game,” W.F. West coach Allen Anderson said. “I’m really excited for the boys to have this opportunity.”
It’s the fourth time the Bearcats have gone to a shootout this season, and they connected on all but one of their shots in each shootout.
Anderson said that the coaching staff has been preparing for penalty kicks since Day 1, as they’ve ended each and every practice with a session of PKs.
That repetition not only kept Madrigal calm in net, but it helped each Bearcat who made the long walk to the spot stay composed under pressure.
“My team has been in this situation before,” Mendez said. “So it just felt like we were at home.”
As it has been all season, W.F. West’s defense was its calling card on Thursday, as the Bearcats were able to shut out a Hockinson offense that had averaged nearly three goals per game heading into the matchup.
It’s the tenth time that the Bearcats have shut out their opponent this season, which breaks the school record they tied in their district quarterfinal win over Hudson’s Bay.
“I don’t think anybody expected us to have this great of a defensive scheme,” Anderson said.
While Madrigal and Mendez were the heroes in the shootout, it was a big defensive play in the final minutes that was the main reason the game got to that point.
With less than three minutes left in regulation, the ball snuck behind Madrigal in a crowded box, and a Hockinson attacker was bearing down to tap in what likely would have stood as the game-winning goal.
Instead, freshman Gabriel Burger scampered to his right and just got enough to get the ball out of play. W.F. West cleared the ensuing corner kick, and the referee blew the whistle to end regulation.
Hockinson didn’t put another shot on net.
“We knew it was going to take a good team defensive effort,” Anderson said. “And that’s exactly what they did.”
The Bearcats (11-5-1) will appear in the state tournament for the second time in three years. Anderson was the coach two years ago, and he was on the team in 1998, the other time that W.F. West has made the state tournament in school history.
“That’s pretty cool,” Anderson admitted.
The win also gets the Bearcats back on the right track heading into state, as they had won just three of their previous eight games. Despite the tough stretch of play, their confidence has never wavered, and now, it’s at an all-time high.
“This team has been through lots of hardships,” Madrigal said. “We’ve had some downs, but we know how to bring ourselves back up … It’s just the next big step. It’s time to win state.”
“I feel we were the most underrated team this whole season, and we just came out on top,” Mendez said. “I’m really proud of these guys.”
