Soccer teams are in the chase

Prairie surprised Camas with a goal in the first minute of Friday’s game at Doc Harris Stadium, before the Papermakers scored six times.

The Falcons gained possession out of the gate, and pitched the ball into the upper right hand corner of the net. At the time, Camas senior goalkeeper Zach Anderson was looking directly into the sun and could not pick up the ball.

Not even a minute passed before Camas tied the game on a corner kick. Wyatt Brown blasted the ball into the net on an assist from Chris Miller.

“That immediate response with a goal off the corner kick made all of the difference,” said head coach Roland Minder. “It put the game back to square one.”

After that, it was all Papermakers. Drew White scored the first of two goals, both assisted by Parker Roland.

“After they scored that first goal on us, it kind of woke us up,” White said. “It’s amazing how something like that can spark a fire, and all of the sudden you score six goals. Once you get one in, you get hungry for more.”

Adam Allison chipped the ball into the net off a corner kick from Drew Gourlie. Allison came back up with the ball and fed a nice cross to Nathan Beasley for a goal.

“Getting those first two goals in was good,” Allison said. “The third and the fourth one felt like the nail in the coffin.”

Roland delivered a beautiful goal on an assist from Beasley that gave Camas a 5-1 advantage heading into halftime. The ball curved around the defender and threatened to break away from the net, but the centrifugal force sucked it in like a vacuum with a “swishing” sound.

“Any time you hear the ball grate or rip the net of the opposing team, you feel satisfaction,” Minder said.

Beasley and Roland both helped each other score a goal April 19, to lead the Papermakers to a 2-1 victory over Mountain View. The Papermakers also beat Hudson’s Bay 3-2 in overtime Monday.

Camas (11-1, 10-0) can clinch the 3A Greater St. Helens League championship with a win over Columbia River Wednesday. Kick off is at 4 p.m., at Jason Lee Middle School.

Panthers are in the hunt

The race for the 2A league soccer title is wide open, and the Washougal Panthers are hunting the Hockinson Hawks and Mark Morris Monarchs.

Washougal shut down Mark Morris 2-0 Wednesday, at Fishback Stadium.

“It felt good to win after losing to them the last time in double overtime with about a minute to go,” said junior Jeremiah Palmer.

Palmer knocked in the first goal on an assist from Oscar Duarte. Colton Sullivan scored the second goal on his own. Senior goalkeeper Patrick McCarthy helped preserve the shutout with six saves.

“Our guys would not be denied that night. It was really great to see,” said head coach John Tyger. “This win puts us in a good position for the remainder of the season, but we have to finish strong. We control our own destiny.”

Washougal has a strong foothold on third place in league, with four more games to go. The Panthers play at R.A. Long tonight and Hockinson Thursday night. Both games begin at 7 p.m. Washougal hosts Woodland Saturday, at noon, before going back up to Mark Morris May 3, at 5 p.m.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for this,” Duarte said. “We want to be the champs of the champs.”

Whatever happens in league, Palmer hopes this is the year the Panthers make some noise in the playoffs. A shootout loss in the first round last year left their mouths watering.

“It’s been a long time since Washougal has made it all the way to the state tournament,” Palmer said. “That’s definitely something that would be nice to be a part of.”