The floodgates opened for the Centralia offense on Thursday in Shelton, as the Tigers pulled away in the second half for a convincing 6-2 win over the Highclimbers.
“I’m pretty happy with the win,” Centralia coach Luis Magana said. “It’s definitely a confidence boost, and we’re hoping to build on this.”
Though the Tigers scored six, the first goal didn’t come until deep in the first half. Centralia was trying to play out to the wings, but the wet playing surface made it difficult to generate consistency in the offensive third.
The only goal of the first half came on a defensive mistake, as the ball ricocheted off of a Shelton defender to Ana Blankenship, who took the ball into the box and scored.
Goals started to come much more quickly in the second, as Magana switched to a 4-4-2 to put more pressure in the middle of the Shelton back line.
Shelton tied the game eight minutes into the second half, but Olivia Gruginski converted a penalty kick just five minutes after to regain the lead.
Shelton then went to a backup goalkeeper, and the Centralia pressure led to a breakthrough.
“We took advantage of that and just started taking shots,” Magana said.
In the 63rd minute, freshman Tyanna Leal-Minor made it 3-1, and Magana was pleased to see one of his best JV strikers get on the varsity scoresheet.
“She’s been going off on JV,” Magana said. “I was excited for that.”
Just two minutes later, Jaslin Corona scored on a free kick.
Shelton scored again to put a small dent in the lead, but Eva Reinitz scored a header off a corner kick in the 73rd minute and Gruginski chipped the keeper in the 76th to get to six.
Centralia finished the night with 15 shots, while on the other end, Braylee Blankenship made five saves.
“I’m hoping this will build confidence,” Magana said, reiterating that he’s pleased with the direction of the team heading into the bulk of league play.
Before they continue with league play, however, the Tigers (2-2-2, 1-0-0 2A EvCo) will host 3A Kelso on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
