TUMWATER — The Centralia boys soccer team has been no stranger to wild games this spring.
Over the last two-plus months, the Tigers have had more than their fair share of back-and-forth affairs, late scoring frenzies, comebacks, and penalty kick shootouts.
But as Damian Corona’s penalty kick spun across the goal line on Tuesday in Tumwater, players, coaches, and fans alike could only shake their head in amazement at what might’ve been the most thrilling finish yet.
“If there’s a universe out there that believed in us today, I think that proved it,” Centralia coach Noel Vazquez said.
Corona’s penalty kick was the golden goal in what was likely the final play of extra time, lifting Centralia to a 1-0 victory over Tumwater in a 2A District 4 Tournament Elimination Game at Tumwater District Stadium.
Corona’s shot was initially stopped by Tumwater’s Grady Harroun, who dove to his right and got a piece of it, but the ball’s backspin carried it across the line to Harroun’s left, kickstarting a Centralia celebration that carried over past the track that surrounds the turf field.
“All the trouble that we’ve gone through, seeing them succeed today is probably one of our biggest achievements throughout the season,” Vazquez said.
Corona said that his tendency at the spot is to go left, though he did think about going right before reverting back to his go-to.
“I stuck with my gut,” Corona said. “I did full power, and I was just lucky that it (spun) in like that. I’m just glad that it went in.”
In the final moments that led up to Corona’s penalty kick, a shootout seemed inevitable.
Both teams traded chances throughout the first 80 minutes of regulation, and in the first eight-plus minutes of stoppage time, they continued to trade scoring opportunities.
Deep into stoppage time of the second half of extra time, the Tigers (11-8) made one final push.
The ball made its way to Evan Alexander Tackman, who drew contact while trying to work his way through some traffic in the box. The referee awarded a PK, which led to Corona’s winner.
It was Centralia's first win over Tumwater this season, as the Thunderbirds took the first two league matchups in the regular season.
“We’re always working hard with everything we do,” Corona said. “We were all motivating each other. We just had the courage to work hard and try to win the game. Even though we lost to Tumwater twice, we never thought that we weren’t gonna beat them today.”
As Corona celebrated with his teammates just off the corner of the field, some Thunderbirds began making their way onto the field to console their teammates, a few of which simply laid on the turf in disbelief.
It was a disappointing end to a season that saw the T-Birds win the EvCo regular-season title before going two-and-out in districts.
“It’s frustrating to say the least,” Tumwater head coach John Hayes said, noting that his bench felt that enough time had passed to blow the whistle to end extra time.
For the better part of the second half, Tumwater (7-9-2) looked like it would be the team to break the deadlock.
Centralia generated most of the chances late in the first half, including a Corona header that rattled off the crossbar and bounced just outside of the goal line, but an adjustment at the top of the formation helped Tumwater flip the field in the second half.
Hayes opted to move midfielder Malachi Vuong up next to Isaak Djigal, putting two in the front while leaving just three in the back.
That aggressiveness led to several chances in the final 20 minutes, including one that led to a no-call when a Thunderbird was knocked down in the box in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
That momentum carried over into the first chunk of extra time, when the T-Birds began pushing hard for the game-winning goal. Hayes said their record in penalty kicks played a role in the decision to go on the attack.
“We were 0-4 when we went to pens,” Hayes said. “We didn’t want to go to pens. Turns out that a pen got us again.”
Though he didn’t get the bounce on the final PK, Harroun was outstanding in net in his final high school game. He made several saves throughout the game, including one in the midst of a sea of bodies in the box near the midway point of the second half.
“He did everything he was supposed to do,” Hayes said. “Grady had a hell of a game.”
It was also the final game for Memphis Pitcock, Kaydon Hanks, Djigal, Colin Holien, Dominic Ramos, Jason Schneider, and Malaki Jenkins, Tumwater’s six other seniors.
Hayes said that he will miss this senior group, but added that he is already looking forward to returning with much of the younger core that grew together this spring.
“I’m excited about the future of this group,” Hayes said. “It’s just a real bummer that it ended the way it did.”
Centralia, on the other hand, advances in the district tournament’s elimination bracket. The Tigers still need two more wins to earn a state tournament berth, and if they’ve learned anything this season, it’s that they can not be counted out.
“I told the boys, let’s go win it when it really matters,” Vazquez said. “It's our time. We work hard enough, and we’re deserving of moving on.”
Centralia will face Ridgefield, the GSHL’s No. 3 seed, in Ridgefield on Thursday. The winner will advance to the tournament’s third-place game, and the winner of that game will earn a trip to the state tournament along with Columbia River and Hockinson, the tournament’s finalists.
“I hope we go to practice and work hard,” Corona said. “I hope we win that one, and then play another, and hopefully we get to the state tournament.”
