CAMAS – Roland Minder’s one concern heading into Thursday’s elimination match for his Camas boys soccer team was defending free kicks and corner kicks against the taller Todd Beamer Titans.
But the Papermakers didn’t give their coach much reason to worry in a 3-0 victory that moves them one step closer to the state tournament and gave Minder a milestone 300th win in two decades as coach of the Camas boys soccer program.
Team captain Austin Cassity scored in the 14th minute, Cameron Eyman and Matt Paoldichuk scored in the second half, and the Papermakers dominated play in the match at Doc Harris Stadium.
The only loss this spring for Camas came last Saturday in a penalty-kick tiebreaker. That result meant the Papermakers must win six games to win a state title. Thursday’s was the first of those must-win matches, and the Papermakers took care of business start to finish. Todd Beamer did not have a shot on goal.
“We just focused on the little technical things to make sure that we played as a team in this game and kept moving forward and scored some goals,” Cassity said.
Camas next plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Art Crate Stadium in Spanaway against Bellarmine Prep or Federal Way. Win there, and the Papermakers advance to the 16-team state tournament. Lose and the season ends.
“There’s a little bit of pressure, but we’re confident in all our teammates,” Cassity said. “We trust each other enough where we know if we just play as hard as we can, that’s the best we can do and we’ll keep moving forward.”
Cassity scored from 12 yards in front of goal after a shot by Nate Beasley was blocked by the defense. The play started with a throw-in from Lucas Ulmer into the 18-yard box from deep on the right wing.
Eyman made it 2-0 less than four minutes after halftime. He ran onto a pass from Beasley and from the right side of the penalty area drove a shot that Beamer goalkeeper Omar Duenas got a touch on before it deflected in off the left post.
Nine minutes after halftime it was 3-0 as Palodichuk blasted home a shot from 16 yards off a diagonal pass from Cayne Cardwell.
Beasley said he expects the postseason to bring out the best in the Papermakers.
“We kind of need a little push sometimes,” Beasley said. “Being a senior, being in an elimination game, playing teams we don’t know, it’s definitely that little push we needed knowing that if we lose we might never play soccer again.”
Minder, in his 20th season as the Camas boys soccer coach, said reaching 300 wins is a testament to a lot of committed players.
“It means a lot of hard work by a lot of players,” Minder said. “Coaches don’t win games, players do. It’s great for Camas, it’s great for the players who’ve made it happen.”
Skyview 3 , Puyallup 1 — Carter Johnson scored two goals and Luis Garcia the third as the Storm overcame a first-half deficit to win in the bi-district semifinals at Doc Harris Stadium. The win means the Storm play for bi-district title at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Tahoma High School and will host a first-round state playoff game next week.
Johnson’s first goal came four minutes before halftime and tied the score 1-1. He controlled a pass in front of goal, flicked the ball into the air and finished with a right-footed volley.
“It was pretty lucky, but it was a technical goal. I was proud of it,” Johnson said.
He gave the Storm the lead in the 61st minute from point blank on a play that started from a corner kick. Eric Ferris passed the ball to Johnson, who got inside position on a defender for a point-blank finish. Garcia’s goal with 10 minutes left on a hard shot just under the cross bar finished the victory.
