By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
WOODBURN, Ore.– A second half goal from Woodburn freshman David Barlyak and strong defense by the Bulldog defense proved to be enough for Woodburn to slip by West Albany 3-2 on Thursday night.
With both teams looking to stay in contention for the 5A State Playoffs, sitting just outside of the fourth-and-final automatic bid out of the Mid-Willamette Conference, they went to work on Thursday night at Woodburn High School.
Both were tied at one by the 16th minute, the Bulldogs led 2-1 at the halftime break only to see the West Albany Bulldogs pull even with them eight minutes into the second half by way of Tony Arellano. It was only 13 minutes later when Barlyak pushed Woodburn back ahead with his goal off a free kick that put the Woodburn Bulldogs ahead 3-2 with 19 minutes remaining in the game.
“This game was all-or-nothing for us, and it feels amazing to win with my teammates. It feels amazing,” said Barlyak. “(The game) was very intense, very intense. We fought hard for the win. We knew that this was an important game that decided our season.”
West Albany kept clawing and fighting to tie the game back up. They, too, were looking for any kind of advantage in the toughest league in all of Oregon where every game is just as evenly matched as the last. But Woodburn kept finding answers to keep the West Albany offense off the board over those last 19 minutes, and the Bulldogs from Albany did the same in return to the Woodburn offense to keep the game within reach down the stretch.
It was a tough decision for sure for West Albany, falling in their third one-goal decision in league this season, but they know too that if they win these next two games, they still have a chance at playoffs as they’re currently ranked eight in 5A coming out of Thursday’s game.
“The dye has been cast on this one, we have to go out and win the next two, and hopefully, the computer doesn’t drop us too low. We’re just not getting the results we need in these close, league games. League has been really even this year. We’ve seen a lot of one-goal games, and we’ve been on the wrong end of every single one of them. We’re pretty frustrated, but I think the guys are going to keep their heads up. They’re a good group. They’re a strong group, and I’m definitely proud of the fight, I’m proud of the effort, and we want to see some things cleaned up,” said West Albany Head Coach Kevin Branigan.
“We just got to believe and not give up. That’s the message right now,”
West Albany closes out the season with Central and Dallas/Perrydale. Woodburn closes out the season with Dallas/Perrydale and Silverton.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
