By Ray Hamill — Trenton Gerber scored the winning goal three minutes from time to lift the Eureka Loggers to a 2-1 win over the McKinleyville Panthers in H-DNL boys soccer at Washington Field on Tuesday.

Gerber was quickest to react to a loose ball in the goal mouth and broke the late deadlock to give his team a first league win.

The victory lifts the Loggers to 1-1 in the H-DNL and was a nice response after losing their league opener 2-0 at Del Norte last week.

“I think it was a good team win,” Eureka head coach Tommy Learmouth said. “I thought the boys deserved it. They worked really hard in practice last week, and they came out today and really wanted it. They weren’t happy with the score in Del Norte.”

Check out the winning goal from Tuesday’s game above …

The loss was another heartbreaker for the Panthers, who dropped to 0-2 in league play after giving up a decisive goal in the final few minutes a game for the second straight week.

“I thought we could have played a lot better,” McKinleyville head coach Ryne Deppe said. “I really thought (Eureka) worked harder than us and won more 50/50 balls, and we didn’t do what makes us successful. Hats off to them.”

After a scoreless first half, the Loggers opened the scoring just a few minutes after the break when Makai Dennon found the back of the net off of an asset from teammate Will Mooney.

The visitors, however, refused to go down easily and would battle their way back into contention when freshman Becker Rine found the back of the net with about 25 minutes remaining to give the Panthers a chance.

But it was the home team that would figure out a way to score a late winner, with Mooney assisting again on Gerber’s strike.

The Eureka seniors played a key role in the victory.

“I thought it was a great team performance,” Learmouth added. “Our seniors — Gerber, Dennon and Mooney — are always adjusting and helping the team.”

Freshman Lucas Ask also had a good game at right back as he continues an impressive start to his high school career.

Center backs Kyan Green and Luis Gonzalez each also played well and helped set the tone for a Eureka defense that handled the McKinleyville pressure well throughout the second half.

Despite not bringing their A game on Tuesday, the Panthers showed just why they are considered legitimate championship contenders by matching up well against Eureka for much of the afternoon.

Sophomore Gaelen Creighton continued to impress at the back for a Panthers defense that didn’t give up many opportunities to a dangerous Eureka attack.

“He definitely took on his one-versus-one assignments and really capitalized on his moments when he tried to get up the field,” Deppe said. 

The always-impressive Rylee Collart also had a good game for McKinleyville as he adapts to a new and more defensive role this year.

“Riley had another good game, we’ve just got to figure out a way to get him more up the field,” the McKinleyville coach added.

The win was a clutch one for the Loggers, who are looking for a first league championship since 2008 after coming close a year ago.

“I thought the boys really figured out what it means to fight for a win,” said Learmouth, who is in his first season in charge of the team. “I’m really proud of the boys today. They fought hard and deserved it.”

Next up, the Panthers will play at Del Norte on Saturday, while the Loggers will play Arcata next Tuesday.

McKinleyville has dropped two pre-league games to Del Norte this season, but both were decided by just one goal.

On Tuesday they had a late go-head goal denied on an offside call.

In their seven games against H-DNL opponents so far this season, the Panthers are 2-5, but four of those five losses have come by just one goal.

“We’re right there,” Deppe said. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to make it work.

“We’ve been in every single game this year and we feel we could have won every single game we’ve played in this year.”