Chiefs find mixed results

MOSES LAKE — With senior captains Mick Aney and Seth Bruneel out for Tuesday's non-league soccer matchup with the Kennewick Lions, Moses Lake Chiefs' coach Bill Bertram saw the game as an opportunity to juggle the lineup and try some new things on the field.

The strategy worked early in the game, with Moses Lake taking a 1-0 lead on a Richie Ramirez goal, but Kennewick scored twice in the second half to defeat the Chiefs 2-1.

"It was an opportunity for everybody to play," said the Moses Lake coach. "The result is unfortunate, but we're playing pretty strong."

With his fellow captains out, Ramirez stepped up his game against the Lions, giving Moses Lake a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute on what Bertram colorfully described as the goal of a lifetime.

On the play, Ramirez beat a pair of Kennewick defenders down the left sideline to get the ball into the corner near the Lions' goal. The ball was then knocked up into the air, where Ramirez struck the ball with his left foot and drove it into the net from 25 yards away and at an extreme angle to the goal.

Kennewick tied the game early in the second half, putting pressure on the Chiefs' to score once again.

Moses Lake had several excellent opportunities, including a shot from Devin Petersen from 5 yards out that went high over the crossbar and another opportunity moments later when a Kennewick defender broke up Christian Manly's wide open look at the net from inside 5 yards.

"We had lots of opportunities," remarked the Moses Lake coach. "Or, I should say, we had our chances."

After surviving those Moses Lake attacks, the Lions charged down the field with the ball, eventually crossing a ball from the left side to the right that a Kennewick player finished for a goal in the 59th minute.

Moses Lake fought frantically in the last 10 minutes of play to score, but ran out of time when Donald McGraw's high shot from just outside the penalty area was saved by the Kennewick keeper in extra time.