Moses Lake rolls past Tigers
Miles Douglass/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Moses Lake senior Isac Bergeson (22) goes up for a header during the Chiefs' Columbia Basin Big Nine victory over the visiting Wenatchee Panthers March 21 at Lions Field in Moses Lake.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Chiefs boys varsity soccer team took to the pitch Wednesday afternoon when they hosted the Lewis and Clark Tigers of Spokane.
The Chiefs dominated the game played in snowy conditions to earn the 3-1 non-conference victory, bringing their overall record to 5-2 this season.
The contest got off to a slow start Wednesday as both teams struggled with the weather.
Moses Lake was able to score the first goal of the match in the 12th minute when Stephen Nganga fielded a pass from Stephen Musa and blasted a shot to the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Chiefs’ next opportunity came in the game’s 28th minute when Alex Alcantar scored after fielding a pass from Omar Ramirez. Moses Lake took a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
With Moses Lake taking a two-goal advantage into the half, Moses Lake head coach Bill Bertram said he thought his team united for a solid first half.
“The kids came together as a group (today),” he said. “They played a tough team from Spokane.”
Lewis and Clark scored their only goal of the contest in the 66th minute when Moses Lake senior goalie Mitch Harder couldn’t stop the shot. Harder played solidly in the win, stopping seven of eight shots on goal.
After Lewis and Clark cut the Moses Lake lead to 2-1, the Chiefs found the back of the net with just minutes to play to put the contest out of reach. Ramirez scored the Chiefs’ final goal with an unassisted shot.
The Chiefs will take on the Southridge Suns Saturday afternoon in Kennewick.
If Moses Lake knocks off Southridge Saturday, the Chiefs will move into prime position to claim one of the Columbia Basin Big Nine’s playoff spots, Bertram said.
“If we beat them we’ll be sitting third in the league,” he said.