To one person’s point of view, it was a four-match losing streak.
To the eyes of the Centralia High School boys soccer team, they viewed it as a curse. Specifically, the “Chehalis Curse.”
Because on April 24, the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 (5-4 PKs) loss to their bitter rivals that ended their reign atop the Evergreen Conference standings. And it resulted in back-to-back one-goal losses to Tumwater plus Shelton, then Aberdeen blasted them 6-1.
“I think today, we broke the curse,” junior winger Johnny Ruiz said through translator Noel Vazquez.
Here’s Johnny… certified curse breaker.
Ruiz opened the scoring for Centralia in the 15th minute and sent the EvCo’s No. 3 seed into euphoria with his game-winning PK that finished off a 3-2 (4-2 PKs) victory over the GSHL’s No. 6 seed Woodland on Thursday night at Tiger Stadium.
It ends the skid and puts the Tigers (10-7) into Saturday’s Class 2A District 4 quarterfinals against No. 2 seed Hockinson. Kick is scheduled for 1 p.m.
As Ruiz made the final penalty kick and was swarmed by his teammates, Vazquez – Centralia’s fourth-year head coach – was sitting at the end of the bench, watching his group experience a triumphant feeling for the first time in 16 days.
“We had a really good gameplan,” Vazquez said. “We were efficient enough to get us at least to the shootout. They deserve it, the second half of the season doesn’t reflect our true identity. We understood the pressure we had was because the season was on the line.”
There was an extended period of time where the Tigers were the cream of the crop in the league. They went 4-1 in the first matchups, primarily with some second half comebacks, but sprinkled in a pair of statement wins.
All of a sudden, the roles flipped. Centralia was the team that started out hot, only for its opposition to make adjustments and piece together rallies.
“It is not the lack of creation, it is the lack of finishing,” Vazquez said. “It has a lot to do with our mental state. We worried too much about what happened around the league instead of worrying about what’s in front of us. We’d do something good, but it wasn’t good enough for two halves.
“It takes a toll when teams come back on you over and over again.”
That feeling returned in the district pigtail game that, for either Centralia or Woodland, meant packing up the cleats.
The Beavers brought numbers forward, were the aggressors and netted two goals in the span of 11 minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit. Logan Speranza won a ball near the box and fired a shot in the top-right corner in the 51st minute.
Then Josue Martinez-Alejo laced a 25-plus yard shot that bent away from Tigers keeper Romario Mejia and into the same corner for the equalizer.
“We put our heads down and we got over-confident,” Ruiz said.
Centralia had four corner kicks in the second half and a couple weren’t cleared right away by Woodland, including one that turned into a cannon off the foot of Adrian Hernandez Ceja that caromed off the crossbar.
After 80-plus minutes and two overtime periods, nothing was decided. The Tigers, just like they did in The Chronicle Cup, looked to striker Damian Corona to be the hero in goal. Both sides made their first two rounds of the shootout.
Woodland’s Miguel Martinez-Betancourt stepped up in the third round and went right down the middle. Corona didn’t move and kicked the ball away. And in the fourth round, Adrian Mayo-Barragan’s attempt went wide left.
Gabriel Cruz and Ruiz made their PKs to keep the Tigers season alive.
“All I was thinking is if we make this shot, we’re gonna win,” Ruiz said. “It is what the team needed.”
The first half was a dominant showing by Centralia, putting up 17 total shots and nine were on frame. Evan Tackman made it a 2-0 cushion with a stoppage time goal. The lead allowed for Vazquez to get some seniors on the field for the second half.
Still, the ever-changing of players and Woodland’s rally created another hiccup. After the post-game huddle, every Tigers player dabbed up a senior before heading for the exits.
“That’s the conversation we had at halftime,” Vazquez said.
Ruiz believes a win like Thursday can lead to more than the minimum of two games in districts. Hockinson was the No. 2 seed last year, lost in the quarters to W.F. West and didn’t make it through to state.
“We’re gonna get better from this,” Ruiz said.
Vazquez had a comparison in mind: The 1982 NC State men’s basketball team. That team, led by the late Jim Valvano, was 17-10 entering the ACC Tournament and reeled off an improbable nine straight wins to claim the National Championship.
“One thing they get to brag about is they’re national champions together,” Vazquez said. “I hope our team gets hot like that. This motivates us and I do believe, a full 80-minutes of Centralia soccer is really scary.”
