CAMAS — From the first possession to the final minute, the Bishop Blanchet Braves didn’t back down Wednesday at Doc Harris Stadium.
But the boys soccer team from Seattle couldn’t break through, so a first-half counter-attack goal was enough to give the Camas Papermakers a spot in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
Adam Allison scored in the 29th minute as Camas won 1-0 in the state playoff match, a result that sets up a showdown between the Papermakers and the Mountain View Thunder.
That state quarterfinal match between the 3A Greater St. Helens League rivals is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium. Mountain View qualified for the quarterfinals with a win Tuesday at Lakeside of Seattle.
On Wednesday, Bishop Blanchet controlled early play and almost took the lead before the match was a minute old. Camas goalkeeper Connor Heredia made a diving stop on a close-range header by the Braves’ Colum McKannay.
“That right there turned the game around,” Camas coach Roland Minder said.
Well, not right away.
It took a good 15 minutes for the Papermakers (16-2) to get some traction and to be able to start using their speed on the wings to pressure the Braves.
By attacking the flanks, Camas was able to make Bishop Blanchet worry about defending. It was also how the home team scored its goal.
Sophomore Nathan Beasley won a race down the left wing and cut a pass back into the center of the 18-yard box that Allison snapped into the goal with a sharp header.
“Nate beat their back with his speed and put in the cross. I was in the right place, and I put it right across the goalkeeper’s face,” Allison said.
Minder said the scoring play was precisely the way he wanted his team to attack from the start.
“(The Braves) came out with incredible intensity. It took us a little bit of time before momentum shifted,” Minder said. “The first 15 minutes of the game was theirs.”
The way the contest unfolded, one goal did not figure to be enough.
But, for Camas, it was.
Heredia finished with four saves — none of them as dramatic and his first, although a couple of through balls late in the match created some danger. The Braves also misfired on some high-quality scoring chances.
On the flip side, Camas freshman Cayne Cardwell thought he had scored the second goal with 34 minutes left in the second half. But that goal was overturned because the corner kick that started the play was ruled to have curved beyond the goal line.
Cardwell was in a prominent role in the center of midfield for the Papermakers because senior co-captain Michael Koceja suffered a knee injury in the previous playoff win, against Bonney Lake.
“I was really worried losing Michael in the midfield, but Cayne came through for us,” Minder said, also crediting the effort of senior Roldan Alcobendas in the midfield for helping to keep things settled.
Come Saturday, Camas and Mountain View can settle a season series that stands at one win for each. Camas won 5-1 on March 19 at Mckenzie Stadium, and Mountain View won 3-1 on April 17 at Doc Harris Stadium.
“To me it’s a whole different thing,” Minder said, comparing the upcoming battle with those GSHL clashes. “This is the playoffs now. It might as well be against a team from anywhere.”
