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TAKING CHARGE -- CHS senior midfielder Bruno Maya (in white) looks to get something going for the Bruins' offense during Columbia's May 21 quarterfinal match against Seattle Christian. The Bruins hung on for a 4-3 win that earned them their third 1A Final Four appearance in the past four years.
Columbia High will play in a WIAA Class 1A boys soccer semifinal for the third time in four years when it meets Cedar Park Christian of Bothell tomorrow afternoon in the first of two 1A semifinal matches at Sumner High School.
The Bruins advanced to the 1A Final Four at Sunset Chev Stadium by winning their quarterfinal matchup with Seattle Christian, 4-3, last Saturday in Camas.
Senior midfielder Mark Lovrin and junior forward Francisco Villanueva led the way for Columbia, scoring two goals and recording one assist apiece.
Moreover, the win was CHS’s fourth in a row and 19th of the season (versus two defeats).
But it didn’t come until the Bruins finally clamped down on a late but furious Warriors uprising that closed a 4-1 CHS lead with 13:42 remaining to 4-3 with just under 8 minutes left in the loser-out game.
“Overall, we outplayed Seattle Christian for 70 of the 80 minutes,” said Bruins Coach Christopher Cramer. “The real turning point was when our centerback, Hector Barajas, got sent off (after a red card) for denying a goal-scoring opportunity inside the penalty box. We had to play the final 10 minutes with 10 players. Credit to Seattle Christian for never giving up.”
The Warriors (16-3-1) started their rally in the 71st minute with a penalty kick that resulted from the red card. A minute and a half later Seattle Christian scored with a header off a long sideline throw-in to make it 4-3.
Seattle Christian had two more good chances in the final 4 minutes, but had one shot strike and ricochet off the far post and another skim the top of the crossbar before going out of bounds.
“It was a nervous ending to the game, but I was really proud that our guys were able to hold on and win the game,” Cramer noted.
Lovrin put CHS on top in the 15th minute with a weakside header off a cross from freshman forward Gabriel Guzman that passed in front of the Warriors’ goal.
Fourteen minutes later Villanueva ran down a long ball deep in the opposition’s zone, then dribbled around the goalkeeper before slipping a shot into an open goal to make it 2-0. The half ended with that score on the board.
“The first half was some of the best soccer we’ve played all season,” Cramer said, noting CHS held Seattle Christian without a shot on goal in the first half. “We are learning to not only possess the ball and control the game, but we are becoming a team that pressures the ball well and is able to win physical matchups.”
Columbia made its lead 3-0 in the 55th minute when Villanueva finished at the end of another long ball; he settled the ball outside the 8-yard box, then quickly turned and fired a left-foot shot—a move that Warriors coaches had warned their defenders about.
Lovrin added a fourth goal in the 67th minute off a set-up by Villanueva that gave the Bruins a three-goal lead. Everything was going CHS’s way until Barajas, a senior defender, tackled a Warrior attacker inside the goal box with 9:26 to go.
Columbia 2, King’s 0: The Bruins avenged last season’s quarterfinal loss to the Knights with the May 17 first-round victory on King’s’ home field.
Columbia broke up a scoreless match in the 61st minute when it caught the King’s defense sleeping on a quick counterattack.
“We were able to play Mark (Lovrin) in behind the defense, the King’s keeper came rushing out (after a shot by Francisco Villanueva) and Mark was able to slip the ball past him and into an empty net.”
He added: “We knew that first goal was going to be pivotal, and it proved to be absolutely true; once they conceded that first goal, the King’s players became frustrated and took themselves out of the game.”
About 5 minutes later, Gabriel Guzman found space behind the defense and, off a play set up by Lovrin, “poked the ball away from the on-rushing keeper and into the net.”
Bottomline for CHS: “For us it was about winning the physical battles on the field and not conceding the first goal,” Cramer said.
Scouting Report: Cramer had this to say about Columbia’s next opponent, Cedar Park Christian (15-2), which beat Ridgefield, 1-0, in quarterfinal action:
“Cedar Park Christian is an interesting opponent. Against Ridgefield they got one opportunity on goal early in the game and were able to finish it. After that they got numbers behind the ball and defended like crazy.
“Their game plan was to kick the ball as far down the field as possible and let their one true forward chase it down and put the Ridgefield defense under pressure. They did well to double- and triple-team Ridgefield’s playmaker. They took him out of the game and frustrated him.
“For us, we believe that if we play like we have played the last few games, we can beat any opponent.”
Bruin Bits: By rule, Hector Barajas will serve a one-game suspension Friday for the red card he received during CHS’s quarterfinal match against Seattle Christian...The 2011 Bruins are one win away from tying the school single-season record for victories. That record is held by the 2009 state champions, who won their final 20 matches in a row after losing their season opener to Stevenson...
