East Valley knocks off Othello
Derrick Pacheco/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Othello freshman goalie Allesha Reyes, left, slides to block a shot from East Valley senior Adrianna Jones Tuesday night at Huskie Stadium in Othello.
OTHELLO — Othello stayed close with defending Central Washington Athletic Conference girls soccer champion East Valley of Yakima, Wash., Tuesday night, but the Red Devils scored early in the second half on their way to a 4-0 conference victory.
Othello freshman goalie Allesha Reyes worked hard in front of the net to keep the Huskies within a goal of East Valley entering the half.
Othello head coach Kevin McDonald said his freshman goalie has played well this season.
“She has to do a lot of work back their for us,” he said. “She was averaging 10 saves per game heading into tonight.”
With Othello’s young goalie in front of the net, McDonald said she will help the Huskies as the season progresses.
“She had been a great asset for us,” he said. “She is a good prospect for the years to come.”
East Valley’s lone first-half goal came midway through the first half when East Valley senior Kaylah Gonzales beat the defense and snuck the ball past Reyes to give the Red Devils a 1-0 advantage.
Despite Reyes’ strong performance in the first half, the Huskies were unable to keep the Red Devils off of the scoreboard in the second and East Valley broke the game open.
Othello struggled to start the second half as East Valley scored just two minutes in on a free kick outside of the penalty box, McDonald said.
“We got caught on our heels to start the second half,” he said.
East Valley was impressive Tuesday night, McDonald said.
“They showed why they are one of the top teams in the state,” he said. “They moved the ball really well.”
Othello started just one senior Tuesday night and McDonald said it was tough to compete with an experienced team like East Valley.
“They have nine starting seniors and we have a young team,” he said. “They moved the ball and controlled the field.”
While the Huskies are a young team, Othello is gaining experience with every game, McDonald said.
“We have a few freshmen back on defense trying to carry the load,” he said.
East Valley scored twice late in the second half to ice the game and earn the conference victory on the road and Othello dropped their first conference contest of the season to East Valley.
The Huskies travel to Connell Thursday night for a non-conference match up before hosting Wapato at 4 p.m. Sept. 29.