Photo Courtesy Larry Bale - Raymond-South Bend Raven Edgar Ramirez (10) dribbles downfield against Elma last Wednesday at Millam Field. Raven Juan Orozco offers support.
SOUTH BEND - The Raymond-South Bend boys soccer team was defeated by Elma and Tenino, and the Ravens played to a tie versus Winlock last week. Though winless on the young season, the Ravens have shown a lot of improvement over a season ago.
"We have a squad of 23, made up of eighth graders, ninth, 10th and 11th graders," Ravens head coach Joseph Keegan told the Herald.
Last Friday, the Ravens played at Tenino and were defeated 3-1.
"In the first half we gave away three soft goals," Keegan said. "At halftime, we got the boys to be more physical in defending." As a result, Tenino (4-1) was held scoreless the rest of the match.
"We had a free kick on the edge of the box," Keegan said. "Edgar Ramirez, a ninth grader, fired a great shot. The keeper palmed it over the bar."
With about 10 minutes to go, Josue Rojas-Quintana, a sophomore, scored for the Ravens, making the score 3-1.
Elma 10, Ravens 0
Last Wednesday, Elma shut out the Ravens 10-0 at South Bend. Elma is 3-0-2 on the season.
Coach Keegan said, "Elma is such an accomplished team. Even in the losses, we see promise in the boys. Some of the eighth graders are new to playing."
Ravens 2, Cardinals 2
Raymond-South Bend and Winlock played to a 2-2 tie last Monday (March 21) at South Bend's Millam Field.
For the Ravens, Michael Nunez scored on a free kick and Ashton Kongbpuakhay scored a goal on an assist from Jason Loza.
The Ravens (0-3-1) entertained Ilwaco (1-3) Monday at Cheney in an Evergreen 1A League matchup before heading to Forks (1-3) today and Hoquiam (1-4) Friday.