Tigers fall short of state tournament

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers had their impressive season come to a disappointing end Saturday, as the Tigers were defeated 2-1 in a shoot-out by the Prosser Mustangs in the consolation finals of the Central Washington Athletic Conference soccer tournament.

After 90 minutes of soccer produced just one goal for each team, a shoot-out was needed to decide which squad would get the third and final berth to state out of the CWAC.

Ephrata, shooting first in the shoot-out, got off to a rough start as Prosser's Moi Marquez saved the first shot he faced. After a Prosser conversion and an Ephrata shot that missed wide, the Mustangs took a commanding 2-0 lead with their second made try of the shoot-out.

Ephrata wasn't done yet however, as Ryan Hoskins got the Tigers on the board with a goal, Jaymes Kirkham made a diving save and Humberto Mendoza then converted to tie the shoot-out at two.

Prosser took a 3-2 lead on their next shot, and when the Tigers' fifth and final shot was saved, the Mustangs celebrated their state tournament berth.

It was a difficult end to a game that Ephrata coach Jennifer Lee felt the Tigers should have won before the shoot-out.

"On the field, Prosser is just not a better team than we are," said Lee. "Sometimes, that's the way it bounces."

The Tigers started the game slow, falling behind 1-0 to the Mustangs as they didn't play their best soccer.

In the second half Ephrata returned to the form that earned them the number two seed out of the CWAC North. Mendoza tied the game midway through the second half on a goal assisted by Corey Trepanier.

Both teams had their chances to win the game late, but neither could convert.

With 1:30 to play, a Prosser forward launched a long outside shot over the head of Kirkham that clanged off the crossbar.

Finally, in the final seconds of regulation, Ephrata's Marcos Farias was fouled just outside the penalty area, giving the Ephrata junior a chance to hit the game winner with a free kick from 18 yards out. Farias' shot went wide left, prompting the start of overtime.