Papermakers in pursuit

Sometimes the soccer ball hits the post, but following up leads to a goal.

“It’s soccer,” said Camas High School head coach Roland Minder. “You wish it would go in, but you see it all the time.”

Ellie Echeverio, Alyssa Tomasini and Sophia Sanzobrin turned their pursuit into points for the Papermakers in a 3-0 victory against Ridgefield Saturday, at Doc Harris Stadium.

“It’s just our first game, and it’s awesome to see how many combinations we’ve had,” Echeverio said. “Our team is very close. We’ve got this mental thing going on. It’s really fun to see it coming out on the field.”

Eight minutes into the game, Echeverio delivered a header into the back of the net off an assist by Ashley Carter to put the Papermakers on the board.

“Our energy was high, our team was ready to go and it was just a perfect ball to me by Ashley,” Echeverio said. “She put it right on target to my head. I just closed my eyes and said, ‘head it down,’ and it went in.”

On defense, Camas didn’t allow Ridgefield to get any shots on goal. Seniors Marley LeFore and Sarah Davidson are settling into their new positions on the back line with the help of Perri Belzer, Carter and team captain Hannah Taie.

“We just stayed calm in our box and didn’t allow any shots off. That was our goal accomplished,” LeFore said. “We’re following in some big footsteps, but really starting to get the hang of it. We’re definitely just going to get better throughout the season.”

Tomasini kicked off the second half for Camas with a goal. Her first shot off a cross from Echeverio hit the post, but Tomasini rebounded the ball and fired it past the keeper for a point.

“The put back was great,” Minder said. “Absolutely.”

Sanzobrin netted her first varsity goal in the last eight minutes of the game on an assist by Kierstyn Heilbrun. Minder enjoyed seeing the newcomers contributing to the attack.

“You always need a mix if you want to be consistently playing well from year to year,” he said. “The chemistry on the field is pretty good. But like with everything, it can always be improved and we’ll just keep working on it.”

Camas defeated Sandy 4-0 Tuesday at Doc Harris Stadium. Jazzlynn Paulson chipped in a goal and an assist. Maddie Kemp and Tomasini netted the other goals. Echeverio and Carla Jooste added assists.

The Papermakers host Lake Oswego tonight, at 7 p.m., at Doc Harris Stadium.

Camas travels to West Valley, Yakima, Saturday, before returning home to play Sherwood Tuesday.