Prep boys soccer: Bearcats clip Wolves to begin 'defining' stretch of season
BOX SCORE
At W.F. West HS
BEARCATS 2, WOLVES 0
Black Hills0 0 - 0
W.F. West 1 1 - 2
Scoring Summary
WFW (31') - Gage Grisham (assisted by Alex Mathuzima)
WFW (44') - Julian Casimiro (penalty kick)
Perhaps no one needed time away more than the W.F. West High School boys soccer team. Three of their last four matches before spring break featured losses of 2-0, 4-0 and 5-0. They mustered a 3-3 draw versus 4A Battle Ground.
Oddly, senior Gage Grisham felt it may have brought the Bearcats closer. For a team back in the preseason that banked on team chemistry, it never wilted.
"We're always planning team dinners; anything we can do to stick together," Grisham said. "We all knew we weren't playing our best and it helped to look at the bigger picture."
And now, W.F. West embarks on a stretch of league games to see if it can make a run for a Class 2A District 4 tournament berth. It got off on the right foot on Tuesday night.
Fueled by a goal in each half and taking advantage of the elements, the Bearcats upended Black Hills 2-0 at home to pick up their first win since March 27. Grisham scored in the 31st minute and Julian Casimiro tallied a goal in the 44th minute.
Now at 5-4-1 overall and 2-2 in the EvCo, W.F. West feels the next two weeks of matches are either going to make the season or end it early.
"I emphasized how important this week was; if we want to be able to have an opportunity at the postseason this year, this week was going to be that defining moment," head coach Allen Anderson said. "It doesn't get any easier. We have to play these games that are essentially do-or-die.
"I think our boys kind of thrive off that pressure."
Most of the one-week spring break was spent away from the soccer field. The Bearcats returned to training on Monday with a rejuvenated mindset and the batteries recharged.
What remains is six league matches spanning three weeks, including back-to-back-to-back against the teams sharing the lead atop the standings at 3-1.
"It is easy to get down after losing and it is important for us to clear our heads," Grisham said. "Put it all behind us."
W.F. West had the wind at its face in the opening half and it took a counter-attack to strike first. Alex Mathuzima fired a shot just outside the 18-yard box, it caromed off a Black Hills defender and Grisham fired it home for the 1-0 lead.
The senior was in the right place at the right time.
"I screamed his name and he tried to rip his shot and I was right there," Grisham said.
"Gage has that calming presence that keeps the team grounded," Anderson added. "Being able to finish those chances was good."
Four minutes into the second half, the Wolves (1-6-1, 0-4) were whistled for a handball in the box and Casimiro laced the penalty kick to the right side of the net to double the Bearcats cushion.
The backline and goalie River Haydon halted a couple chances in the second half. There were some missteps with a wet grass field, but no major mistakes occurred for a defense that hasn't recorded a clean sheet in nearly a month.
"Make sure you have each other's backs and be there for one another," Anderson said.
Black Hills head coach Jackie Zvirzdys Wood was blunt afterwards.
"I feel like there are a lot of things we are just not lucky on," she said. "My boys making these weird little errors, that's a bummer. We're doing all the right things, we look good and we're able to compete with these teams. It is the last piece of finishing."
Despite dominating possession in the opening 20 minutes of the match, two early chances were cleared and the Wolves only had one shot on goal in the first half with the wind at their backs.
A flipped field led to perhaps their best chance of the night, a one-touch pass to striker Josiah Knight, who missed his shot wide right in the 59th minute. All three of their shots in the second half were on target.
"Our intensity needs to get higher," Zvirzdys Wood said.
Black Hills hasn't won a game since the season opener against Rochester. Its next chance to snap the skid comes on Friday versus Shelton, then the final non-league game on Saturday against Mark Morris.
Meanwhile, W.F. West travels to Tumwater on Friday for the first meeting against its league rival. The Bearcats are hopeful a win can spark a rally to stay in the mix for a top-three finish in the standings.
"No team in our league is a slouch," Grisham said. "We know what we have to do and we're gonna prepare as much as we can."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.