Zach Martin / zach@chronline.com
There wasn't much room or space for Moisés Sánchez Hernández on the roster last spring.
But the WF West High School boys soccer team knew he was coming in a hurry.
“He's definitely been one of the standout players on our JV (team) the last few seasons,” coach Allen Anderson said. “If he was with me, he wouldn't have had much time.”
The junior was the catalyst for what was a great start for the Bearcats.
Although he didn't score at the varsity level, Sanchez-Hernandez had three goals in two games, including two in Wednesday's 4-0 win over rival Centralia in the Evergreen Conference. did.
“(I feel) more confident, much better and developed,” Sanchez Hernandez said through translator and teammate Rafael Mendez. “Scoring goals on the national team is much better than on the co-varsity team.”
This marks WF West's fifth consecutive win and consecutive clean sheets. Since losing 4-0 to Mountain View in the season opener three weeks ago, they have allowed only three goals in regulation.
The back line has strengthened, and despite changes to goaltenders Josh Madrigal and Kayden Page, there has been no decline in communication and execution.
“They're getting a feel for each other,” Anderson said. “They step up and fall together. When someone makes a mistake, there's always someone to pick up the pieces.”
Sanchez-Hernandez feels his chemistry with this group continues to grow as the season progresses. He believes that is the main reason for his recent string of successes.
The midfielder was in the right position at the right time in the 28th minute, deflecting a pass from Uzi López Cruz through the legs of Tigers goalkeeper Alejandro Arevalo. Four minutes later, Sanchez Hernandez took an errant pass from Centralia, dribbled a few times and sunk a shot from over 20 yards out to make it 3-0.
“The new goal is to score more goals, play better and improve overall,” Sánchez Hernández said.
“He's just getting his feet back and becoming a bigger part of the team,” Anderson added. “The players really believe in him. He's stepped up and done great.”
In the first 20 minutes of the game, WF West (5-1, 4-0 EvCo) scored touchoffs on through balls and runs. López Cruz broke the scoreless tie.
Against a swarm of Tigers defenders, the junior found enough space to score a goal into the top left corner for a 1-0 lead.
“I really like it,” Anderson said. “It just makes it exciting and fun.”
Centralia coach Noel Vasquez felt “the floodgates opened” after that.
“Once they realized they were in control of the game, they started playing with more confidence,” he added.
Adrian James scored the winning goal of the night in the 51st minute with a free kick into the top right corner. The Bearcats outscored Centralia 13-5, 11-2 in shots on target.
At one point, Anderson questioned whether the team had enough depth to survive a grueling stretch of six games in 10 days.
These questions have been resolved.
“They completely proved me wrong,” Anderson said. “There's no letting go. We're interacting with our players a lot more during games than I think most teams traditionally do. We're adjusting well to that.”
Although the Tigers were trailing, they changed their formation and started to pick up the pace in the second half. Although they created more chances, they exploited the big holes and were unable to score.
“Once the players got used to the formation, we felt pretty confident about the outcome in certain situations,” Vazquez said.
