The Rochester girls soccer team lost its second straight league matchup on Thursday, losing in Montesano 4-1 in a matchup that will go a long way in determining home-field advantage in the first round of the district tournament.
Had the Warriors won, they would have had one fewer loss and the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bulldogs, but it’s now Montesano that stands in second with one fewer loss in the final stages of the league season.
Rochester coach Matt Ashton said that the turf at Montesano created a faster playing surface that the Bulldogs were able to capitalize on, and he also said that the Bulldogs were able to sub more players in and out to keep legs fresher throughout the match.
“Just the ability to be able to swap players out when needed and the options of where those players can play, Montesano had a lot more versatility in that,” Ashton said.
It was only 1-0 at the break, and Ashton said that his group felt like it was still in the game, but the Warriors weren’t able to generate enough scoring chances to truly threaten for an equalizer.
Two goals in a seven-minute stretch in the middle of the first half made it 3-0 Montesano, and the Bulldogs scored a fourth in the 73rd minute.
It wasn’t until the 74th minute that Liz Hoover got the Warriors on the board with an unassisted goal.
Rochester (7-6-2, 4-3 1A Evergreen) will host Castle Rock on Monday before hosting Elma in its final regular-season game on Thursday, Oct. 22.
The Warriors will now need some help to earn a top-two seed in the district tournament and the guaranteed home game that comes with it, but Ashton is still confident in his group no matter where the cards fall in the final week.
“If we’re third and we have to go on the road for a game, that's what it is,” Ashton said. “I think we still have a good opportunity to make the state tournament.”
