The Columbia High School boys soccer team defeated Kingsway 2-1 in overtime on May 11 in the 2024 District 4 Championship.
Approximately 200 CHS fans celebrated their first district championship since 2010. The Bruins (15-3 overall) advanced to this week's state playoffs on a 10-game winning streak. CHS earned the No. 5 seed in the WIAA 1A playoffs and will play Cascade Christian (12-3-1 overall) on Friday, May 17th.
Columbia led 1-0 midway through the second half in last Saturday's championship game, played in 90-degree weather in Vancouver, Washington. Angel Flores stole the ball from a Kingsway defender, weaved through two players and centered the ball to Isaac Reynoso. He made a backheel turn past one Kingsway player and created enough space to shoot at the near post, past Knights goalkeeper Chase Wharram (six saves).
The match was a tough physical battle. CHS defenders Juan Santoyo-Luna, Cole Wooding, Damien Sanchez, Ricardo Diaz and Alex Baldwin worked hard to contain the Kings Way offense. Five minutes after the first goal, Kingsway's Hunter Barron jumped over a CHS defender and headed a corner kick past CHS keeper Alfonso Cerrato (4 saves) to tie the score.
Near the end of extra time, Wooding made a long pass towards the goal box to Luke Miller. Although he couldn't get close to the ball, he did enough to misdirect the Knights' defenders, freeze the goalie and send the ball into the back of the net for the game-winner.
Kingsway, the No. 3 seed in Trico, advanced to the title match by defeating Seton Catholic Prep, the league's top seed, 2-1 in the playoffs.
Columbia tied for first place in the Trico League, sharing the title with Seton Catholic Prep. The Bruins, the No. 2 seed in District 4, started the game against Elma, the No. 3 seed in the Evergreen League (10-4 in league play). The Bruins dominated the game from start to finish and won 2-0.
In the 27th minute, Ulises Huerta intercepted an Eagle pass and connected with Matthew Carrillo, who found Wooding on a long run down the sideline. Wooding passed the ball to Miller, who collected it and weaved past defenders for the first goal.
In the second half, Huerta received a throw-in from Flores and fired a shot past a defender and past goalkeeper Elma to make it 2-0.
Two days later, the Bruins traveled to Evergreen to play the top-seeded Montesano Bulldogs (12-2 in the league). In last year's tournament, Montesano took an early lead, defeating CHS 2-1 en route to the district championship. Last week, the Bruins were strong from the opening whistle. Center back Sanchez set the tone for the game with a tough tackle on Bulldogs leading scorer Felix Romero.
Early in the second half, Matt Miller stole the ball from a Montesano midfielder and threaded his way between three attackers to score his second goal of the game. After the second goal, the Bruin midfield took over and controlled the pace of the game.