Y-C's Edgar Rodriguez manages to get past a diving Scappoose goalie to score the third goal of the game.

Marcus Larson
News-Register

YAMHILL - It was an afternoon of celebration out on the Y-C soccer pitch. The boys squad beat Scappoose in a Cowapa League playoff match to advance to the first round of the OSAA 4A State Playoffs.

“It was a big game for these guys,” said Y-C coach Jon Briggs. “We’re just not used to playoff-type atmosphere.”

The Tigers blanked their league foe 4-0 in the third time these two teams have met this season. Now Y-C has a few days to rest before heading east nearly 300 miles to take on La Grande, the second-place squad out of the Greater Oregon League.

This season has been a tremendous turnaround from seasons past. The Tigers, who managed only one win in each of the previous two seasons, finished the regular season in third place with a 4-3-3 league record (5-5-3 overall).

Saturday pits the Tigers against a La Grande team with a similar record. The Tigers of La Grande finished 2009 with a 5-3-1 in the Greater Oregon League (7-5-1 overall).

“We think La Grande is a winnable team,” Briggs said. “We think if we play our game, we can compete with any team we step on the pitch with. We’re really kind of build around speed and quick strike. And I don’t care how good a team is, they have a hard time countering speed. We can play with anybody.”

In Tuesday’s afternoon matchup, the Indians kept things close in the first half. Y-C got their first score of the afternoon less than four minutes into the match off the foot of junior forward Edgar Rodriguez. But that was the only scoring Y-C would do in the first half.

“We did not play our best soccer,” Briggs said of his team’s first-half effort. “We didn’t have that playoff intensity to start the game.”

But the second period got off to a similar start as the first. Rodriguez nailed his second score of the game, this time less than three minutes into the second half.

A high kick went straight to the Scappoose goalie. It looked like a routine stop, but the ball slipped right through the goalie’s hands. And Rodriguez was there to gently kick it in for the score, putting the Tigers up 2-0.

After that score, Briggs yelled at his to team to keep attacking. And that they did. Five minutes later, a speedy Alex Slater fielded a perfect cross-field pass in front of the goal, knocking it to give Y-C a 3-0 edge.

Rodriguez finished out the scoring for the Tigers with his third goal of the match. This one came with just over 20 minutes left in the half. Defended by two Scappoose players, Rodriguez sliced through them and took it to the house for his third goal of the day.

“Edgar’s done that for us all season long,” Briggs said. “I want to say he exceeded our expectations, but everbody expects Edgar to create those opportunities and finish them and he does ... Edgar’s a player, for sure.”

The scene after the win was a joyous one. The whole team did a cheer with the crowd. Teammates celebrated with one another.

And everyone one made sure to give kudos to Briggs for a job well done.

“You should be proud, coach,” a parent told Briggs.

“I was from day one,” Briggs replied with a smile.