The Centralia girls soccer team couldn’t pull off a comeback on Thursday night in Montesano, where the Tigers fell 3-1 to the Bulldogs.
Montesano quickly took a 2-0 lead, and Centralia coach Luis Magana made the switch from a 4-4-2 to a 4-1-4-1.
“Playing with one striker is always hard,” Magana said. “But today, Iza Hernandez and Eva Reinitz worked hard putting pressure on their back line.”
The switch paid off in the 27th minute, when Hernandez beat a pair of defenders and found the back of the net to trim the deficit to one.
The second half was tightly contested, but Montesano eventually added an insurance goal, and Centralia couldn’t answer before the final whistle.
“Of course I’m not happy with the result,” Magana said. “But the girls played with their heart and left it all on the field, so for that, I thank them. They enjoy competing against tough programs to see where we are at and where we need to improve.”
Peyton Thurman made four saves in net in the first half, and Nena Venegas-Minor made five in the second half.
Centralia (2-3) will hit the road again on Tuesday to take on Kelso.
