Bears earn second-round decision over Raiders, 3-0

Published 4:00 am Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Technically, Ryan Candella is a defender for Bend High.

In Tuesday’s second-round state soccer playoff game, though, he was the spark that ignited the Lava Bears’ offense.

Candella scored two of Bend’s three goals in the Lava Bears’ first postseason match of the year, guiding the Intermountain Conference champions past Crescent Valley of Corvallis 3-0 at 15th Street Field in Bend.

The Lava Bears (15-1 overall) play at either Corvallis or Cleveland of Portland on Saturday in the state quarterfinals.

“Once we got that first goal, we relaxed,” said Candella, who broke a 0-0 tie one minute after halftime. “We kept pressure on their defense.”

Did they ever.

The Lava Bears recorded all three of their goals in a 10-minute span at the beginning of the second half. Candella scored again in the 45th minute for a 2-0 Bend lead before Elliott Plummer beat his defender down the left side of the field in the 50th minute to make the score 3-0.

“That’s not the first time he’s done that,” Bend High coach Nils Eriksson said about Plummer’s sideline streak that gave the Bears a commanding three-goal lead. “He’s pretty quick.”

The Lava Bears dominated on offense in the second half, outshooting the Raiders 7-1. Bend controlled the midfield and was never really challenged by Crescent Valley’s offense.

“We changed our formation and went into more of an attack mode,” said Eriksson, who guided the Lava Bears to the 5A state semifinals a year ago. “We had some opportunities in the first half, but we didn’t frame the box.”

Junior goalkeeper Ben Abbott picked up the shutout. Tuesday’s win marked the 12th time this season Bend High has held its opponents scoreless. The Lava Bears’ lone loss in 2008 was a 2-0 road decision Sept. 25 against Woodburn, which is currently 5A’s top-ranked team.

“We know we’ve got the talent and the skill,” Plummer said. “We just can’t let other things get in our heads.”

Next up

What: Class 5A state boys soccer quarterfinals

Who: Bend High at Cleveland in Portland

When: Friday or Saturday, TBA