Crusaders sting Lions with penalty kick payback

MOSES LAKE - Payback can be brutal, and the Moses Lake Christian boys soccer team tasted that bitter medicine Thursday afternoon.

Six days after winning a penalty-kick shootout on Riverside Christian's home field, the Lions were back home at Cascade Park with a chance to inch closer to their league's No. 1 seed. But the Crusaders interrupted those plans, taking a 3-2 victory back to Yakima on the strength of a 4-3 shootout decision.

"We didn't do the little things that we had to do," Lions head coach Scott McCornack explained. "We couldn't finish. We know how to do that. It wasn't the younger guys, it was the older guys that know they have to be disciplined."

Riverside Christian and Sunnyside Christian are neck-and-neck with Moses Lake Christian for the league's top seed to districts. The race will come down to how the Crusaders and Lions fare in their remaining games with Sunnyside, and possible outcome is a three-way tie for first.

The Lions play Trout Lake on Saturday, then close the regular season at Sunnyside next Tuesday. Moses Lake Christian won the last match-up between the squads, 4-0 at Cascade Park on Oct. 9.

Moses Lake Christian didn't have its full complement of starters on Thursday as No. 1 goalkeeper Stefan McNamara was out with an illness. That forced McCornack to play freshman Jonathon Parton, who made some excellent plays but also a crucial second-half mistake.

Riverside Christian controlled possession for the first 20 minutes, keeping the ball at the Lions' end of the field and nearly scoring on a few occasions. But Moses Lake Christian weathered the storm, then dented the scoreboard at the 31-minute mark when Jonathan Roberts rebounded Kameron Firouzi's initial shot and beat the keeper from 18 yards out.

"I felt like the first half we were battling the wind," McCornack explained. "They were beating us to the ball, constantly beating us to the ball, and we couldn't string any passes together.

"That's something we struggle with because we've got a lot of young guys," he added. "Their first touch is pretty suspect."

The Lions held the lead until the 53rd minute, when Parton made his big error. Riverside's Chris Pynch took a free kick from about 30 yards and blasted it into the top of the net. It was a goal that McCornack felt shouldn't have happened.

"He was just out of position. It went over his head and he couldn't get back," McCornack said. "He's new and what do you do? That's the hand we were dealt today. We had to play him - we had no other options."

Both teams had opportunities to win in regulation, but the tie wasn't broken until the second minute of overtime. Pynch's long throw-in from the left sideline eluded several Lions defenders, and Steve Cervantes one-touched it past Parton.

Moses Lake Christian quickly answered, however, as Jesse Bassett chased down a long pass, then tapped a shot past Riverside's charging netminder just inside the near post.

The Lions inserted midfielder Jared DeTrolio at keeper for the shootout because of his experience and quickness. He stopped Pynch's first shot, but the next four Crusaders scored. Firouzi's shot was saved by Riverside's keeper, and when Tim Gjefle's shot ricocheted off the post, the Crusaders had the last break they'd need.

The Crusaders out-shot the Lions 18-12 and Parton was credited with 16 saves.