It wasn’t until four minutes in the second half that Washington could breathe a sigh of relief.  Jose Gamboa fed the ball to Freddy Jimenez in the box. A North Johnston defender tried to mark the Pam Pack sharpshooter, but slipped and fell, making it easy for Jimenez to score.

The goal gave Washington a 2-0 advantage in its third-round match up with the familiar Panthers. The lead allowed the Pam Pack to better settle into an offensive rhythm, which they struggled doing in the first half.

“With the sloppy conditions out here tonight, I just talked to the guys (at halftime) and told them we were going to have to change up our philosophy a little bit,” said coach Jim Kozuch. “It wasn’t going to be a pretty way to play. We kind of bypassed the midfield and played the balls up front.

“The breathing room lets us play a little more defense on a day like today. You don’t want to push up too far. You can kind of just sit back and clear some things away.”

Jimenez helped extend the lead in the 57th minute. He whipped in a cross from the left side of the penalty area. Holt McKeithen got a head on it to put his side up 3-0. The goal punctuated what was an outstanding all-around performance for the senior defenseman. He spearheaded a nearly perfect effort in protecting the Pam Pack goal.

“(McKeithen) is a rock back there. He stuck strong,” Kozuch said. “He did a good job with them … He’s been with us a long time and he’s a great player. Expectations are through the roof and he gets it. He’s a mature player and one of the best.”

North Johnston struggled to put the ball in the net. The Panthers were able to move the ball well, especially in the first half, but the Washington defense was able to block the majority of their shot attempts. Goalkeeper William Tate was able to save most of the chances that made it through.

The visitors did end up breaking through with 20 minutes left to play. Tate looked to punt the ball downfield, but dropped it and picked it up again. The double possession resulted in an indirect free kick for the Panthers. Adolfo Rosales dropped the ball off to Ian Walston, who drilled it into the bottom-right corner.

Momentum shifted only briefly. The Pam Pack were back to owning possession and creating chances within minutes. Rob Zerniak forced a turnover in the box in the 64th minute, but shot the ball over the net. He received a cross from Jimenez a minute later, but missed on that shot, too. He finally converted in the 75th minute with a goal to seal the deal.

Zerniak scored the game’s first goal, too. North Johnston couldn’t clear a throw into the box. With the keeper screened, he was able to get a foot on the ball and send it into the lower-right corner. It was the fourth time in the playoffs a Washington player has scored multiple goals in a game.

“It says you can’t single out just one of our guys,” Kozuch said. “They were man marking one of our guys tonight. Good luck man marking our guys because we’ve got three or four that are ready to score on you.”

It takes six wins for a state championship. Washington has three. It’s familiar territory for Kozuch and his squad.

“It’s nerve-racking,” he said. “We’ve got 11 seniors on the team this year, so we know that every game could be our last. The second we walked out here, we knew what we wanted to do. It just took a little time … We’re halfway there. It’s long and tough. We’ve got to try and stay healthy.”

Washington will host its fourth-round contest on Saturday. A time hasn’t been determined yet.