WARRENTON – It wasn’t exactly a Clatsop Clash classic, but there’s always “the pride thing” whenever Astoria and Seaside meet on the playing field, as they did Tuesday night in a Cowapa League boys soccer match.

And while the game did not count in the District 1 standings, there was no shortage of hustle, desire and determination from both sides.

Still, “I’ve seen much better Astoria-Seaside games,” said Astoria coach Jerry Boisvert, whose team posted a 2-0 victory over the Gulls at the Lower Columbia Youth field. “It wasn’t a real pretty game, in my opinion. A lot of long balls and not a lot of possession.

“Certainly the effort and drive and desire was there. It doesn’t count (in the district standings), but ask the kids if it doesn’t count – there’s no doubt it counts to them.”

The game was “a lot closer than the score implied,” Boisvert added. “It wasn’t a decisive win.”

A more accurate score would have been 1-1. A defensive lapse by the Gulls in the closing minutes of the first half gave the Fishermen their first goal, while a shot from Seaside’s Ben Dueber late in the first half was inches away from finding the net, as the ball deflected off the hands of Astoria keeper Henry Brause, then caromed off the cross bar and back onto the field.

Astoria goalkeeper Henry Brause makes a leaping save in Tuesday’s soccer matchup with Seaside at the Warrenton Soccer Complex. Astoria won the match 2-0.

SUE CODY – The Daily AstorianThe Fishermen converted two of their eight shots on goal, with the first from Richard Lukasc with less than two minutes to play in the first half.

A failed attempt to clear by the Seaside defense allowed Lukasc to gain control of the ball at midfield and the foreign exchange student from Switzerland dribbled the ball for 10 to 15 yards then let fly with a rocket shot past Gulls’ keeper Jared Cederstrom.

“Henry’s save was worth a goal, and Richard’s goal was just awesome,” Boisvert said. “He makes the goalie go the wrong way and bends the shot the other way – that was a pretty nice strike.

“Richard is a threat,” he said. “When he gets opportunities, he makes the most of them. We’re real pleased with his play.”

Seaside coach Jon Broderick saw the play unfolding and knew it was trouble.

“It was a beautiful shot, but we handed it to ’em on the mistake at midfield,” Broderick said. “We left (Lukasc) wide open. It looked like one of those screen passes – it hit him right in stride and he picked it up, and not only that, we were numbers down. We knew we were in trouble.”

Astoria made it 2-0 in the 14th minute of the second half, when Philip Gaffney dropped a short pass to Angelo Schauermann near the top of the penalty area, and Schauermann placed the ball perfectly past Cederstrom into the left side of the net.

“Philip’s play was real unselfish,” Boisvert said. “When he found Angelo, that was a headsy play. After we put the second goal away, I think Seaside slowed down a little.”

The Gulls held a 5-to-2 shots on goal advantage in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

“I was happy with a lot of what we did,” Broderick said. “We just haven’t scored forever. We’ve got talent and we were trying some new things (playing Dueber and Vito Cerelli at midfield), to see what we can do to unlock some of our weapons.

“Our play was good – we just didn’t get any breaks,” he said. “I said to the boys, ‘we made a mistake there in the first half, and (the Fishermen) will make mistakes,’ but they never did. They played solid defense and didn’t give us many chances. They’re a nice defensive team, and they’re a hard nut to crack.”

Seaside was missing senior midfielder Kyle Romine, who suffered a mild concussion last week at Rainier; while Astoria was missing Diego Macareno, out with a sinus infection.

Both teams open District 1 play Thursday, with the Gulls at Taft and Astoria hosting Philomath (game moved to 4:15 p.m.).

“I’ve really enjoyed the preseason, because I’ve been able to sit and watch a game like this without getting all nervous or upset about it,” Broderick said. “They all count now.”

Astoria 2, Seaside 0

Astoria 1 1 – 2

Seaside 0 0 – 0

First Half

38:43 – Richard Lukasc (unassisted)

Second Half

14:10 – Angelo Schauermann (Philip Gaffney)

Shots on goal – First half: Astoria 6, Seaside 5; Second half: Astoria 2, Seaside 5. Corner kicks: Astoria 0, Seaside 3. Saves – Henry Brause (Astoria) 4, Jared Cederstrom (Seaside) 0. Yellow cards: Adam Kauppi, Ast; Zack Adamson, Tony West, Sea.

JV: 1-1