Though the Tenino boys soccer team struck first, and were level at the break, a 10 minute lapse in the second half saw Forks come away with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.
Freshman star Tyler Minerich got the Beavers on the board in the 18th minute, with a good individual effort, splitting two centerbacks to put the ball through the back of the net.
Though the Beavers gave up the lead four minutes later, head coach Kevin Schultz was feeling good about his team's chances, tied 1-1 at the half.
“The goal gave us the lead and gave us the energy,” Schultz said. “For the first 20 minutes, we were the better team, and we were going back and forth up until the 50th minute. Unfortunately from there, things started to unravel a bit.”
After Forks’ Ethan Bello scored in the 22nd minute, he followed it up with goals in the 55th, 64th, and 66th minutes to put away any hopes of a Beaver win.
“First half was really good, both teams played well,” Schultz said. “We weren’t the same team in the second half, it was a very short stretch, a 10 minute stretch where we lost control. We needed to respond, and we put our heads down for a 5-10 minute stretch and they took advantage. We’re trying to learn those lessons, but we’ve struggled to be consistent. We haven’t quite found that yet.”
Schultz praised the play of his backline in Zach Byer and Toby Suess. He also praised keeper Alex Reichelderfer for keeping the Beavs in the game with seven saves in the first half.
Tenino (6-5, 5-4 1A Evergreen) will look to respond against Hoquiam on the road Friday.
