The Fort Vancouver girls soccer team christened their new on-campus turf field with ice water on Wednesday.
Actually, the ice water came from a celebratory dousing of the Trappers’ coaches.
Junior Jocelyn Ray scored five goals and Haylee Santos added another as Fort held off Stevenson 6-4 in what is believed to be the program’s first win in five years.
“Five years, that’s what we were told,” first-year head coach Edward Esparza said. “Actually, I don’t think either team has won in five years.”
The Trappers were coming off a 0-13-1 season, with the tie coming in a 1-1 draw with Stevenson in last year’s season opener.
On Wednesday, Fort doubled its goal production from the entire 2017 season.
“It’s just amazing,” Ray said. “To not have won in five years … usually just scoring a goal is a big deal for us. So this is just amazing.”
Wednesday’s victory was a big boost for Esparza and assistant coach Jorge Perez as they work to get their players to believe in themselves.
“When we took over, the parents were asking if we were going to help the team win,” Perez said. “But it’s not about winning. It’s about having the kids feel good about themselves and about the way they played. This is just a first step.”
And even though this winning thing is new to the Trappers, Esparza handled it like a veteran, making sure to hold his cell phone away from his body as his players doused him with ice water.
“It’s brand new,” Esparza said. “I just got it yesterday.”
Stars of the day
• Emma Villaluz, Camas volleyball, had 30 assists, four aces and three kills in a win over The Dalles (Ore.).
• Anthony Tobias, Battle Ground boys golf, shot an even-par 36 to lead the Tigers over Hudson’s Bay at Heron Lakes.
• Kyle Radosevich, Ridgefield boys cross country, won the La Center Jamboree, covering 1.5-mile course in 7 minutes, 20.7 seconds.
• Roselynn Martin, La Center girls cross country, won the La Center Jamboree, covering the 1.5-mile course in 9 minutes, 41.7 seconds.
