NWPrepsNow: Central Valley unbeaten, but Bears must be wary

Life couldn’t be much better for the Central Valley boys soccer team.

The Bears are 16-0 and favored to beat Davis of Yakima in their first-round state 4A match Wednesday night at CV.

Then again, CV was in the same enviable spot a year ago. The Bears weren’t unbeaten, but were coming off district and regional titles before suffering a stunning shootout loss to Curtis of Tacoma. That defeat is a year old, but still fresh.

“That was a heartbreaker,” CV coach Andres Monrroy said. “We did everything right in that match, but couldn’t score.”

That hasn’t been a problem this year. The Bears – one of four area teams still alive – are coming off a 4-3 win at Pasco last week that clinched the state spot. With a week off, Monrroy said the focus at practice is finishing.

“We don’t want our game to be determined by a shootout,” said Monrroy, who added that the Bears don’t dwell on their perfect record.

“It’s not something we talk about,” said Monrroy, whose team has faced stiff challenges in its last three matches. Before beating Pasco, the Bears edged Ferris 2-1 before rallying past Lewis and Clark 3-2 for the district title.

Monrroy didn’t scout last week’s 2-0 Davis win over Sunnyside – “I prefer to concentrate on my own team,” he said – but expects the Pirates (12-5) to be quick and athletic.

Davis finished 7-5 in Mid-Columbia Conference play before winning two straight postseason matches.

The winner will host either Pasco or Mount Vernon in a quarterfinal match on Friday or Saturday.

3A: Like CV, Mt. Spokane knows all about stunning losses in the postseason. A year ago, the Wildcats were fresh off a district title before falling at home in the regionals, 1-0 to Kamiakin.

Mt. Spokane buried that memory last week by winning regionals, beating Kennewick 2-1 and earning a week of rest going into tonight’s first-round match against Garfield of Seattle at Joe Albi Stadium.

“It’s been wonderful having a chance to regroup and rest up a little,” said Mt. Spokane coach Ryan Campanella, whose young team is only 6-8 overall but playing far better than that when it matters most.

“I told the boys at the beginning of the season, that everything we do is about getting geared up for the postseason,” Campanella said, adding that his team looks fresh going into tonight’s match.

Garfield is 12-4-2 overall after knocking off favored Mercer Island 1-0 in a regional match last weekend. The Bulldogs were 9-3-2 in the Metro League Sound Division.

The winner will play host to either Auburn-Mountainview or Kamiakin in a quarterfinal match on Friday or Saturday.

2A: It’s been a breakthrough year for the Pullman Greyhounds, who are 15-3 going into this afternoon’s first-round home game against Quincy.

Pullman is coming off a 1-0 regional win over Grandview, while Quincy (12-6) knocked off perennial power Cheney in a shootout to reach state.

The match begins at 4 p.m. at Pullman High School.

1A: Colville is in the playoffs in its first year after dropping down from the 2A ranks. The Indians are 12-6 and have won five straight going into today’s match against Brewster.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Colville High School.