Cougars play well, but drop SCAC game to Naches Valley
Warden's Barbara Horta (11) makes a move to get past Naches Valley defender Kellie Bernhardt (13) during second-half action Thursday afternoon. Photo by Neil Pierson/Columbia Basin Herald.
Disallowed goal adds controversy to Warden's 3-1 defeat
WARDEN - The Warden Cougars girls soccer team thought it had received a huge boost four minutes into the second half of its Thursday afternoon match.
Trailing by a goal at halftime to the visiting Naches Valley Rangers, the Cougars started the second half with a surge. Junior forward Maria Wostmann, who'd consistently beaten her defenders all game, found senior Diana Rolon with a right-to-left crossing pass. Rolon shook her defender, then lofted a perfectly placed shot over Ranger goalkeeper Whitney Shirley.
Rolon and Wostmann bear-hugged each other in elation, but their joy was short-lived. After conferring with his assistant, the referee disallowed the goal, ruling that a Warden player had been in an offsides position.
Naches Valley dodged the bullet, then scored an insurance goal a few minutes later to pull out a 3-1 victory in South Central Athletic Conference action.
Warden head coach Donnie Edson said after the game that the player in question wasn't offsides because she wasn't involved in the play. Rolon didn't make a pass on the play - her kick was directly at the goal.
"I understand their interpretation, but it's something I've never seen called before," Edson said.
The Rangers pressured the Cougars early on, earning the game's first goal when Stephanie McKenna swiped a goal kick from Warden's Evelyn Martinez. McKenna's shot trickled across the goal mouth, where Tonya Smith saved it from going out of bounds and fed Kellie Bernhardt for a tap-in goal.
Naches Valley notched its second goal just two minutes later. Bernhardt stole Cougar defender Randi Wright's clearing attempt, dribbled in and beat Martinez to the far post.
Warden had found some counterattacking opportunities throughout the half, and made good on one with less than 10 minutes remaining before halftime.
Rolon made a terrific run just outside of the penalty area, dishing the ball to Wostmann for a post-up play. Wostmann's shot was stopped by Shirley, but freshman Mariana Valdivia was there to pounce on the rebound.
The Cougars had two more chances at the equalizer before the break. Wostmann sped past a defender down the left side, earning a wide-open shot that sailed high. Shortly thereafter, Rolon's free kick from 20 yards out found Barbara Horta, but the junior midfielder sent a redirection shot just wide.
After Rolon's disallowed goal, the Rangers ended the scoring when Emily Thompson's throw-in set up Sydney Charlet from point-blank range.
Warden's best chance at another goal came with 23 minutes left when Rolon hit the goalpost on a 20-yard free kick.
Despite the loss, first-year coach Edson was pleased with his squad's performance against a Naches Valley team that beat the Cougars 8-0 last year.
"They're tough," Edson said of the Rangers. "They have a lot of girls who have a lot of years growing up playing soccer. Last year, they were one of the toughest teams in the league."
The addition of Wostmann, an exchange student from Germany, has been a bright spot for the program, though she'll only be wearing Warden blue and white for one season.
"She's grown up playing soccer," Edson said. "I wish I could just have her stay here."
The coach also praised Rolon, a returning starter, for her strong outing.
"Unfortunately for me, it's her last year," he said. "She's a good kid, a hard worker. You can tell she's been playing a lot."
The Cougars dropped to 1-1 in SCAC play, two days after their 3-0 win over Granger. Edson said it would only be natural for the team to struggle a bit under a first-year coach and an unfamiliar system, but he believes improvement will come quickly because of the team's blue-collar attitude.
"We're hoping to keep moving forward and get a couple more wins," he said. "All the way around, I'm really happy with the team. The effort that they're putting forward right now is second to none."
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