SHORELINE — The soccer match between two of the top teams in the nation lived up to expectations.
And the Camas Papermakers stepped up to the challenge.
Camas 1, Shorecrest 0
The goal: Connor Valenter intercepted a Shorecrest header and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper with 28 minutes remaining.
Next stop: Camas returns to the final four at Lakewood next Friday and Saturday. It will be the Papermakers’ sixth semifinals appearance — all in the last nine seasons.
Connor Valenter scored a second-half goal, and the Papermaker defense held strong on Saturday as Camas put an end to Shorecrest’s 39-match win streak. The 1-0 win before an enthusiastic crowd at Shoreline Stadium earned Camas a spot in next weekend’s Class 3A final four.
The Papermakers (18-0-1) will take on Mount Rainier of Des Moines (18-0-2) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Friday at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
It will be hard for that clash of unbeaten teams to match this quarterfinal between the state’s two highest ranked teams for intensity or entertainment.
Saturday was the first time Camas junior Nick Palodichuk and Shorecrest senior Michael Harris met. Palodichuk is this year’s boys soccer Gatorade Player of the Year for Washington. Harris won that honor as the Scots won the 2009 3A state title. Each was in the middle of the action as the top-ranked Scots and second-ranked Papermakers played a physical, end-to-end match.
“Honestly, I can say that every one of these (Camas) players stepped up today,” Camas coach Roland Minder said. “They stepped up to the level of the competition, and the competition was great.”
None of the Papermakers played bigger than goalkeeper Zach Anderson. Though only officially making two saves, the junior was kept busy snagging the long throw-ins that Harris heaves into the goal mouth from half a field away.
“It was pretty fun to challenge ourselves to defend that every single time and not even get scored on,” Anderson said.
The crowd in front of the goal made it difficult to see at times, “but you’ve just got to go up with confidence and make sure you get that ball,” Anderson said.
Twice late in the match Anderson bobbled a long throw, but both times he pounced on the ball before a Scot could find it.
Harris, who does a full forward flip to get distance on his throws, noted that such a throw-in allowed the Scots to beat Yelm in the final seconds of Tuesday’s state playoff opener.
“So there was some hope” as time ticked down, Harris said. “But they came prepared for those, so it was a little different.”
Shorecrest was assertive early in the match. The Highlanders had a series of four corner kicks in a row immediately after Camas’ right back Evan Klein went down with a knee injury. That forced Drew White to shift from forward to right back, potentially taking a bit of firepower out of the offense.
By the end of a scoreless first half, the Papermakers were playing with better purpose, and seemed to get used to the aggressive defensive challenges from the Scots.
“I guess you could say we were on our heels the first 15 minutes,” Palodichuk said. “But after that I thought we started pressuring them. They’re bigger and better than the other teams we’ve played so far, so it took a while to adjust to the speed of play. but once we found our rhythm, I think we did really well.”
In fact, for the first time this season Minder said, the Camas coaches told the players not to change anything in the second half.
Shorecrest coach Drew Thompson said several Scot players experienced muscle cramps and injuries that forced him to make some lineup moves after halftime. But he pointed to Sean Melby’s play in the backline for Camas as central to the Papermakers’ triumph.
“This was probably the first team we’ve faced all year that was equal to us, or maybe even better, in the air winning headers,” Thompson said.
As is often true in such close battles, the difference was Camas cashing in on one Shorecrest defensive error.
It came with 29 minutes left in the match. Palodichuk won possession near the right sideline in his defensive third, took several strides upfield, then lofted a ball toward the top of the 18-yard box for Valenter to run down.
Valenter, said he slipped and had to adjust on the fly.
“I read that the defender was going to try to head it back (to the goalkeeper), so instead of trying to challenge him in the air I just ran by so he headed it right into my path and I just lifted it over the goalie,” Valenter said.
That was not the end of the excitement.
Valenter had three more scoring chances, and White and Parker Roland both created trouble late for the Scots defense. At the other end, the Highlanders had those long throw-ins, plus a rocket shot by midfielder Maoulay Adjorlolo from 30 yards that skimmed just above the crossbar.
“It was a very good high school game,” Shorecrest’s Thompson said. “Frankly, I think you may have just have witnessed a state final.
“Great game. Back and forth. I felt like we had many chances to score, especially off of corner kicks and throw-ins,” the Highlanders’ coach added. “We typically will capitalize on corner kicks and on throw-ins, and today they did a good job of shutting that down.”
When the final whistle blew, the Papermakers celebrated and Palodichuk and Harris shook hands for the first time.
“I just said good luck,” Palodichuk said, speaking of Harris’ future with the Washington Huskies. “He’s a good guy, and a great player. It was a good time playing against him.”
Harris said playing against Palodichuk was an experience both players will remember.
“He’s a great player, great kid. He’s got a bright future,” Harris said. “He wasn’t a jerk, and I love that. He was a good, hard player to play against. It was good for both of us, I think.”
This time, it ended just a bit better for Palodichuk and his Camas teammates.
