Othello holds off Ephrata

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies hosted the Ephrata Tigers Tuesday night in Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) boys soccer competition.

The Huskies were able to dominate the Tigers on the pitch for the 2-1 conference victory.

The action on the field was intense with the Huskies clawing their way onto the scoreboard just two minutes into the contest when Othello junior B.G. Guzman put the Huskies on top 1-0.

Guzman was able to score after he stole the ball from an Ephrata defender and found the back of the net, said Othello head coach Bernie Garza.

“He saw where the goalie was and pushed it into the back of the net,” Garza said.

The Tigers evened the match with a goal of their own in the 17th minute when junior Trevor Flint scored.

The Huskies continued to control possession of the ball until the Ephrata offense took possession and attacked the Othello goal.

The Tigers managed to put the ball in the back of the Othello net, but an offsides penalty kept the game tied 1-1.

“They went into the locker room thinking they should have been ahead and that just demoralized them,” Garza said.

Othello got off to another fast start in the second half, scoring in the second minute.  The Huskies scored when Othello sophomore Ivan Lopez dribbled the ball down the field and blasted a shot past Ephrata junior goalie Jordan Hurst for a 2-1 advantage.

“We scored in the second minute then ran around for 45 minutes,” Garza said.

The Tigers never recovered from the offsides penalty and Ephrata was unable to pull even in the second half.

Othello goalie senior Erik Suarez stopped six Ephrata shots while Hurst made eight saves for the Tigers.

With the victory over Ephrata, Othello improved to 2-0 in CWAC play.

The Huskies will face defending CWAC champion Quincy at home on Saturday in a match with title implications.

“I know it’s early in the season, but it’s going to be quite the battle,” Garza said. “If we win we will probably win the division.”