Central Valley loses foul-filled match to Pasco

PASCO – The heat was on in Edgar Brown Stadium in more ways than one when Central Valley and Pasco squared off for a berth in the State 4A soccer semifinals.

Temperatures on the artificial turf of the bowl reached the mid-90-degree mark and emotions among the players were just as heated as CV’s best-ever season (12-5-1) ended in a 2-0 loss to the Bulldogs.

The second half of the foul-filled match was marred by a flurry of yellow cards, which came after the public address announcer at the end of the first half had called the contest “contentious.”

The Bulldogs defense was stifling enough. But their early penchant for overtly physical contact, sometimes coming after plays were completed, wore on the Bears.

There were only a couple of cards in the first half when a lot of the CV bodies flew from the force of the hits.

So many cards were issued in the second half that there was five minutes of added time just to mete them out.

“I knew it was going to happen,” said CV coach Brandon Deyarmin. “We were here at the beginning of the season and know how it was done. It got out of control.”

On one play Blake Trimmer had a breakaway opportunity, but was brought down from behind.

Late in the game Joey Balcom took a shot to the ankle that sent him to the sidelines.

“They definitely took us out of our game,” said Balcom, as he watched the match end while icing his ankle on the sideline. “I don’t know if it was the reffing or the players. There were a lot of cheap shots going around on both sides. But they only got called one way in the first half - it seemed like. I think it got out of control five minutes ago.”

That led to the ugly ending with four yellow cards and one red card issued to various Bears and a total of nine cards between the two teams during the game.

“These are 15-, 16- and 17-year-old kids who lost their cool,” said Deyarmin of the late minutes of the match. “I tried to tell them to keep their composure. Last week Wenatchee lost their composure and we didn’t and won.”

Like the first meeting with Pasco, also a 2-0 loss played on the artificial surface of Edgar Brown Stadium, CV never seriously threatened to score.

The Bears could mount no semblance of an offense against their quicker foe. And the ball spent most of its time in the air, something Deyarmin didn’t want to have happen.

Wherever the Bears went, a Bulldog was there to frustrate passing opportunities. Only two times did CV get close enough to the goal for a shot opportunity, both late in the match.

The swarming Pasco defense thwarted clear shots. With six minutes left, Bulldogs goalkeeper Jason Schadler went over the top of Jay Vela to stop one attempt.

Both Pasco goals came following CV fouls. The first was after a yellow card in which sweeper Franky Licon kicked long to Reggio Orozco for the first of a three-header series that ended in Julio Morales’ shot over the top of Ryan Skay at the 34-minute mark.

Near the 53-minute mark of the second half, Pasco’s Rocky Snyder’s free-kick cross to the far side was redirected home on a header by Shayne Kelly.

Deyarmin didn’t think the heat was a disadvantage to his Bears, since it affected both teams similarly. But he did say that the Field Turf was an asset to the home team.

•Ernesto Rodriguez, Aldo Zamora (on a penalty kick) and Ruben Medina scored second-half goals during a 14-minute burst as visiting Wahluke (15-3) defeated host Pullman 4-0 in a State 2A quarterfinal. The match was scoreless until the 47-minute mark. The Greyhounds, who had a nine-match winning streak snapped, finished 17-2.