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R.A. Long’s Alex Wooden controls the ball in the midfield during a league game against Woodland on Friday, April 19. Wooden scored twice and provided an assist in the Jacks’ win.
Woodland’s Yahair Gomez (left) battles with R.A. Long’s Beiro Orozco in the midfield for the ball during the first half of the 2A GSHL contest on Friday, April 19.
R.A. Long players celebrate with midfielder Beiro Orozco (second from left) after he scored the Jacks’ second goal of the match versus Woodland on Friday, April 19.
R.A. Long forward Liam Hendrickson fights off Woodland’s Logan Speranza during the first half of the 2A GSHL contest on Friday, April 19.
Woodland’s Yahair Gomez turns with the ball while being defended during a game against R.A. Long on Friday, April 19.
WOODLAND — The chemistry between R.A. Long forward Krager Clark and midfielder Alex Wooden was on display in the second half of the Lumberjacks’ 4-0 win over Woodland Friday.
Clark and Wooden connected for a pair of goals over the final 13 minutes to finish off a 2A Greater St. Helens League road win at Beaver Stadium.
Holding a 2-0 lead late in the second half, Clark raced to the end line on the far end of the field, reaching the ball just before it crossed out of play. Clark noticed Wooden in the penalty box and wasted no time in firing a cross with pinpoint accuracy to the far post where Wooden was waiting to tap the ball in with a header.
The 67th minute goal gave R.A. Long a commanding 3-0 lead.
“I looked up and I knew that he was one of our best aerial battlers, if not our best, and I knew that he would get on that ball if I would put it on the back post,” said Clark.
Just over 10 minutes later, Wooden and Clark connected a second time, this time with Clark getting on the end of a perfect long ball from Wooden played over the top of the Woodland back line.
Clark timed his run perfectly, breaking past the Beavers’ line the moment the ball was played off Wooden’s foot. The senior forward beat Woodland keeper Austin Clark to the ball and with one touch slipped a shot past Clark and into the net in the 79th minute.
Wooden finished the game with two goals and an assist to lead the Jacks’ offensive attack. On the field he is clearly the leader for R.A. Long
Clark put it another way, calling Wooden “a stud.”
He credited the amount of time the two spend together as the reason for the great second-half plays on Friday night.
“I think the off-the-field chemistry is really what gets us there,” said Clark. “We’re hanging out really all the time off the field, on the field, it’s really just that friendship and that bond that’s really bringing us there. It kinda makes us click when we get on that field and I think we work really well together.”
Playing their third league game of the week, the Jacks battled through their lethargy by playing a solid, if not spectacular game. After a somewhat slow start to the game, the Jacks cracked the scoreboard in the 12th minute when Wooden scored his first goal of the game. That goal came from 35 yards out in the midfield where Wooden powered a low shot to the near corner and past Austin Clark for the 1-0 lead.
R.A. Long made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when the team crowded the Woodland penalty box. Clark made one save on the initial Jacks shot, but he couldn’t secure the ball and the rebound was pounced on by freshman Beiro Orozco who hammered the loose ball into the corner of the net.
R.A. Long finished with six shots on goal in the first half and generated another eight in the second half. Woodland managed three shots in the first half and all were off target. Beavers’ keeper Clark finished with nine saves.
R.A. Long coach Max Anderson was satisfied with his team’s comfortable win despite some lethargic play.
“To be honest, I think it looked like a three-match week for both teams — a little sluggish,” said Anderson. “We weren’t sharp. There were a number of giveaways in the defensive third which we don’t like. That’s like a big no-no we preach and there was more of that tonight than we would have liked but for the most part, it was a pretty orderly, business-like game.”
R.A. Long (11-2, 10-2 league) returns to the pitch on Tuesday when it hosts Hockinson in a key 2A GSHL battle.
Woodland (3-10, 3-10) will head out to Hudson’s Bay on Tuesday.
At Woodland
LUMBERJACKS 4, BEAVERS 0
R.A. Long 2 2 — 4
Woodland 0 0 — 0
Scoring Summary
RAL — (12’) A. Wooden
RAL — (24’) B. Orozco
RAL — (67’) Wooden (assist K. Carter)
RAL — (79’) Carter (assist A. Wooden)
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R.A. Long’s Alex Wooden controls the ball in the midfield during a league game against Woodland on Friday, April 19. Wooden scored twice and provided an assist in the Jacks’ win.
Woodland’s Yahair Gomez (left) battles with R.A. Long’s Beiro Orozco in the midfield for the ball during the first half of the 2A GSHL contest on Friday, April 19.
R.A. Long players celebrate with midfielder Beiro Orozco (second from left) after he scored the Jacks’ second goal of the match versus Woodland on Friday, April 19.
R.A. Long forward Liam Hendrickson fights off Woodland’s Logan Speranza during the first half of the 2A GSHL contest on Friday, April 19.
Woodland’s Yahair Gomez turns with the ball while being defended during a game against R.A. Long on Friday, April 19.
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