CAMAS — On the strength of two wins over Evergreen, the Mountain View boys soccer team had a leg up on the Plainsmen during the 4A Greater St. Helens League season.
But in Thursday’s match for a state tournament berth, Evergreen had Mountain View in chase mode from the start.
Levan Zhividze scored two first-half goals as the Plainsmen earned a spot in the Class 4A state tournament with a 2-0 win over Mountain View.
Evergreen will hit the road for a first-round state playoff match next week — the program’s first state tournament berth in five seasons.
“It means a lot,” Evergreen junior midfielder Ivan Espino said. “I didn’t expect us to get this far. Hard work pays off.”
Mountain View, which finished second behind Camas in the Greater St. Helens League, saw its season end.
Zhividze put the pressure on the Thunder with a goal in the second minute of the match at Doc Harris Stadium. Killian Burris sent a pass forward that sprung Zhividze behind the Mountain View defense, and the Evergreen freshman beat Mountain View freshman goalkeeper Nicholas Popoca.
“The goalkeeper was cheating to the right side, so I hit it to the left side and I let the ball do the work,” Zhividze said.
The early goal was in contrast to the two regular-season battles between the rivals, which Mountain View won by scores of 2-1 and 4-1.
“We finished our chances. That was the difference,” senior midfielder Javier Garza said.
The early goal allowed Evergreen to be patient and look for more chances to get behind the Mountain View defense.
Just before halftime, Zhividze struck again. Collecting a pass from Ruvim Primachenko, Zhividze beat a defender in the penalty area and finished the chance for a 2-0 lead.
“Both of those goals were on good assists from good players,” Zhividze said. “I’m lucky to have this team, and it’s a good opportunity to go to state.”
Mountain View’s best opportunity to slice the lead came with 34 minutes left. Rafael Araya broke loose inside the penalty area and forced Evergreen goalkeeper Enrique Bermudez to make a big stop.
It was the third consecutive win in an elimination game for the Plainsmen, who beat Skyview on Saturday and Battle Ground on Tuesday to reach Thursday’s winner-to state match.
In addition to making the most of scoring chances, coach Keenan Burris pointed to depth and togetherness as the reason the Plainsmen prevailed in three district playoff matches.
“I told the kids from the start of the season it’s about 22 guys,” Keenan Burris said.
“We just believed in ourselves,” Espino said. “Even though we lost a couple of games we kept our heads up and tried hard. We don’t have super talented kids. We’re just all one family.”
