Central Valley girls handle Tahoma in second half, advance in State 4A soccer tourney

Late in the first half, it seemed only a matter of time before Central Valley would go ahead of Tahoma in their 4A soccer playoff match Wednesday.

But half an hour later, time was beginning to run out in a scoreless match. Domination showed everywhere but on the scoreboard at Central Valley Stadium, where the visitors were under siege.

Finally, the walls caved in in the 53rd minute, as CV freshman Kelsey Turnbow scored twice in two minutes to lead the Bears to a 3-1 win and a spot in the quarterfinals.

That match too will come at home, Saturday against Camas.

Win that matchup and the Bears (15-1) will step into uncharted territory: their first trip to the final four.

“The girls are really hungry,” CV coach Andres Monrroy said. “One more team to beat and we’ll be there.”

Wednesday’s victory – against the school that eliminated them from the 2011 playoffs – came in dominant fashion. After settling down in the first 10 minutes, the Bears took over the midfield.

While CV goalkeeper Jessie Kunz-Pfeiffer faced just two shots all night, the Bears placed dangerous passes all night into the Tahoma goalmouth.

“That’s our style: attack, running in space,” Monrroy said. “That was one of the best games we’ve had, playing it wide and crossing.”

Freshman Turnbow and senior Savannah Hoekstra found space, and found each other in front of the goal. Two shots were saved off the line by players other than the Tahoma goalkeeper.

Then forward Sara Grozdanich found Turnbow up the middle, and the USA U-14 Girls National Team member shot past Tahoma keeper Hadley Bezon.

Two minutes later, CV midfielder Katie Van Etten headed a cross into the crossbar, and the rebound came back to Turnbow.

“I was in right place at the right time,” said Turnbow, who headed the ball home for a 2-0 Bear lead.

After the visitors finally moved forward, Grozdanich found space down the left side, then cut the ball through to Hoekstra and a match-clinching third goal in the 62nd minute.

“I know 2-0 is a really dangerous lead to have, because it’s not enough to seal the win,” said Grozdanich. “I had just enough space to sneak it in there and Savannah did a nice job with it.”

Mia Corbin scored in the 67th minute for Camas.