Chiefs rally for another win
Moses Lake 2, Pasco 1; Royal 1, Warden 0; Ephrata 5, Grandview 1; East Valley 2, Othello 0; Quincy 4, Prosser 3
Moses Lake 2
Pasco 1
PASCO — When you’re hot you can be downright sizzling.
The Moses Lake Chiefs soccer team could easily meet that description.
On Saturday, Moses Lake won their fifth match in their last six outings when Alex Alcantar scored in the 78th minute to complete a 2-1 comeback victory over Big 9 rivals Pasco.
Moses Lake (6-4, 5-4), trailed 1-0 at halftime but wouldn’t succumb as they rallied in the second half.
“During the second half, we started finding our groove and Pasco began to tire,” Moses Lake coach Bill Bertram said. “In the first half, play was back and forth with Pasco holding the advantage of possession.”
Pasco scored in the first half when they struck on a 23rd minute tally that just scooted past a diving Chiefs goalkeeper Aaron Molina.
In the second half Moses Lake tied the game when Adolfo Cortez scored on a 25-yard blast after an assist from Derrick Gonzales.
“Adolfo’s goal was all we needed,” Bertram said. “Pasco was looking to run out the clock but his goal really pumped up the boys.”
Gonzales set up the winning goal as well, feeding Alcantar with a service that beat the Pasco backline which Alcantar ran on to and beat the Pasco goalkeeper with a shot to the right post.
“With 15 minutes left, we added a forward and that seemed to do the trick,” Bertram said. “Moving Derrick up top from the midfield produced some very satisfying results.”
Molina played all 80 minutes in goal for Moses Lake and made eight saves.
“Aaron played a great game in goal today,” Bertram said. “He really kept us in it.”
Royal 1
Warden 0
WARDEN — Royal opened up its account in South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) East play with a tough 1-0 win at Warden on Saturday.
Royal (6-1, 1-0) scored what would be the winning goal off of a 28th minutes corner kick that was put in by Luis Esquivel at point blank range.
“It was a game in which the team to make the first mistake would lose the game,” Warden coach Ed Aguilar said. “My defense made that mistake. My goalkeeper didn’t have a chance to stop the kick.”
Royal comes away from a game that was even statistically, with the Knights taking eight shots to Warden’s seven.
“The win is important and each victory in league puts a team below us in the standings and gets us closer to earning a spot in the district tournament,” Royal coach Jens Jensen said. “With the way the tournament is set up we want to finish first or second so that we will not have to go away from home in the first round.”
Jensen was pleased with his defense’s ability to keep Warden (4-3, 1-1) in check.
“Our defense generally handled the Warden attack well,” Jensen said. “Warden is a decent side and they can be dangerous. They are not someone you want to underestimate.”
Warden will hope to bounce back from the tough loss.
“It was frustrating since we did not play our game and we let them build their attack,” Aguilar said. “My midfielders were lost all the time during the game creating a big hole in the midfield with out anybody to carry the ball forward. I hope we can be ready Thursday against Connell.”
Ephrata 5
Grandview 1
GRANDVIEW — Behind two goals by Ramon Sanchez and a second-half flurry of scoring, the Ephrata Tigers recorded a blistering 5-1 win at Grandview in Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) play.
Sanchez’s first goal came with four remaining in the first half to give Ephrata (3-4, 2-4) a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
When both teams came out of the locker room it was Ephrata who appeared more ready to play, as Trevor Flint scored in the 51st minute to make it 2-0, and Sanchez’s second tally off of a 72nd-minute penalty kick made the score 3-1.
Grandview helped the Tigers’ cause with an own goal two minutes later and then Manraj Jhutty popped in Ephrata’s final score in the 75th minute.
Ephrata goalie Matt Helsley made six saves for the Tigers.
East Valley 2
Othello 0
OTHELLO — A strong defensive effort by East Valley dropped Othello to a 2-0 loss in CWAC soccer on Saturday.
East Valley scored a goal in each half to knock Othello to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Quincy 4
Prosser 3 (SO)
PROSSER — They’ve won in blistering offensive performances, scrappy defensive battles, and now in a shootout.
The Quincy Jacks remain unbeaten on the season after pulling out a 4-3 shootout victory at Prosser on Friday.
Quincy (9-0, 6-0) trailed 3-1 in the second half before rallying on a Carlos Beltran goal in the 70th minute and Luis Sorto’s tying strike three minutes later.
Luis Sorto opened up the scoring four minutes into the game to give Quincy a 1-o lead before Prosser rallied with three straight.
Quincy won the shootout 3-0.