Seton Catholic has long been a difficult place to get a win for the Columbia-White Salmon boys soccer team.
Technically, the Bruins didn’t get a win on Thursday. But in a much bigger picture, they got a huge win for the program.
A header by Damian Sanchez off a free kick in the 63rd minute gave the Bruins a 1-1 draw against Seton Catholic, propelling Columbia to the Trico League championship.
“It feels good,” senior Ulices Huerta said of the league title. “It’s the first time in our high school careers. Seton has won it three times in a row, so it feels good to take it from them.”
All-Region Sports Awards Ceremony
The Columbian will be hosting its second annual All-Region Sports Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at The Hilton Vancouver Washington.
The event will be 6-8 p.m. Admission is $15 and includes food and drink.
Tickets are available now by clicking on link.
Columbia entered Thursday with a three-point lead over Seton in the Trico standings. A draw would give the Bruins the league crown.
But early in the second half, it looked like Seton might steal the league title from the Bruins.
Zeek Valencia-Mendez hit a long free kick that slipped past several players, and Easton Ross converted for a goal for a 1-0 lead for Seton.
The goal was even more improbable considering that Ross was not expected to play Thursday after the junior suffered a deep cut in his leg during an accident at home earlier in the week.
With his right leg heavily wrapped in a black bandage, Ross found himself in the perfect spot to put Seton ahead.
But with the urging of a large group of fans in the stands, the Bruins didn’t let the deficit shake them.
“When the game was 0-0 at halftime, I told the boys ‘Look at the stands. All of these families, this community, they’re behind you,’ ” Columbia coach Gio Magana said. “And it was like that every away game, not just today. They’ve been supportive all season long.”
In the 63rd minute, Cole Wooding hit a long free kick in front of the Seton goal, where Sanchez deflected the ball with a header past Seton goalkeeper Dylan Hamilton to tie the match.
“I just told (Wooding) to look for me,” Sanchez said. “And I knew I was going to win it. I almost had a second goal, too, but unfortunately that didn’t go in. But it felt amazing.”
Columbia (13-0-3) now heads into the district playoffs as the Trico League’s No. 1 seed. Seton Catholic (12-1-3) is the No. 2 seed, and both teams will open the playoffs with home matches on Saturday.
“We ended the league undefeated, so it feels good,” Huerta said. “We had a couple of injuries, still have a couple of injuries, but we got through them. It feels good to play as a team.”
Magana added: “This is a tough environment to come to and get a good result here. I’m glad the boys were able to come back from being down 1-0. It says a lot about the boys, and the program and this team.”
