Losses don’t get more difficult than Mountain View’s 2-1 defeat to Peninsula in the 3A bi-district boys soccer quarterfinals Tuesday at McKenzie Stadium.
Well after the scoreboard clock stopped with two minutes remaining, the Seahawks (11-4-2) penetrated down the Thunder’s right flank. Evan Dayton flipped in a ball in front of the goal mouth and Kenneh Roberts pounded it home to secure a state berth for Peninsula.
Mountain View’s road back to the final 16 is much more treacherous.
“You play this game long enough and it just happens,” Mountain View coach Dustin Johnson said. “I’m sort of at a loss for words.”
The Thunder meet Evergreen (8-9-1) in a loser-out bout Thursday, slated for 8 p.m. Thursday at McKenzie Stadium. Mountain View (11-5-1) has to win two consecutive games to secure a state berth.
“We just made the road longer,” Johnson said. “Our destination is still the same.”
On Tuesday, Mountain View appeared to have arrived at its destination multiple times.
After the Seahawks’ Evan Janson headed home a score in the eighth minute, Mountain View had the better chances. Peninsula didn’t find a shot on target again until the game-deciding goal.
Nathan Purvis, the 3A Greater St. Helens League Offensive Player of the Year, equalized on a 35-yard shot that caromed off the Peninsula goalkeeper’s hands in the 36th minute. He did a little dance for the crowd and Mountain View was giddy heading into the lockers. The Thunder pressed the Peninsula backline repeatedly in the second half. Melvin Ramirez and Christopher Grozav both offered difficult tests to the Seahawks netminder. He proved up to the task.
Purvis delivered multiple balls that presented scoring chances that went just high or missed wide. Andres Lopez-Garcia rang the crossbar in the 57th minute.
All signs pointed toward Mountain View, which opted for a direct attack against the more diminutive Seahawks.
“They made it very difficult,” Peninsula coach Alec Moore said. “Their physicality was difficult.”
When the final whistle blew, though, it was the road team celebrating on McKenzie’s turf, a 2 1/2-hour bus ride back to Gig Harbor providing all the opportunity to relish the stunner.
The Thunder players’ shorter drives home perhaps the bright spot amid their heartbreak.
