Chiefs close in on post-season

RICHLAND — Simply huge.

That’s what Moses Lake’s 2-1 win at Richland on Saturday meant for the Chiefs soccer squad.

With the victory the Chiefs (9-5, 8-5 in Big 9) have all but assured themselves a District Playoff spot and now it becomes a matter of what seed they secure and if they will have host their postseason opener.

“We could finish anywhere from a fifth to eighth seed depending on how things shake out this week,” Moses Lake coach Bill Bertram said. “There hasn’t been this much parity in the league in 10 years.”

Ten teams in the league are within three games of each other in the standings.

The Chiefs made their case early in their game with Richland when Devin Petersen scored on an assist from Kurtis Spotted-Bear in the 12th minute for a 1-0 lead.

They built their cushion to 2-0 just two minutes before halftime when Derrick Gonzales put away a header from Lewis Bruneel just off the left corner of the penalty area to beat the Richland keeper for the score.

In the second half Moses Lake battled a desperate host team and the elements and actually saw their lead cut in half in the 61st minute on a Nick Wood goal.

“The wind really started blowing against us in the second half and Richland pressed additional men forward on attack,” Bertram said. “So we were forced to move left midfielder Derrick Gonzales into the center and forward Alex Alcantar over to left midfield to help contain the pressure.  The move paid  off.”

Moses Lake was able to keep Richland off the board over the final 20 minutes and secured the win.

“Defenders Christian Manly and Kasey Grant continued their dominant defensive play by holding All-league forwards Wood and Daniel Pak to just three shots on goal,” Bertram said.

Richland outshot the Chiefs 12-10, while Moses Lake goalies Aaron Molina made six saves in 60 minutes and Luis Villa recorded three saves in 20 minutes.

 “Our captains earned their pay today,” Bertram said. “Omar Ramirez carried out our defensive plan.  Devin once again controlled the midfield and Alex pestered their defense with numerous dangerous attacks up-front today.”

Moses Lake wraps up the regular season at Lions Field this Saturday at 1 p.m. with a match against Eastmont (1-11 in Big 9). The Chiefs are 5-1 at home this season.

Warden  2, Ki Be 1

BENTON CITY — A key road win has kept the Warden Cougars’ playoff hopes alive.

A second half goal by Antonio Figueroa in the game’s waning minutes gave Warden a 2-1 win at Kiona-Benton on Saturday.

Warden (5-4, 2-3) remains in the hunt for a playoff bid out of the South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) East.

The game was tied at 1-1 at halftime.

Warden led 1-0 after a dozen minutes when Hector Camacho scored off of a Cesar Santana assist.

Ki Be tied the match 20 minutes later and the two teams battled it out for the next 45 minutes before Figueroa drove home a pass from Ricardo Araujo.

Warden outshot Ki BE 11-6 and Cougars goalkeeper Martin Aguilar made four saves.

Ephrata 1, Ellensburg 0

EPHRATA — Knowing that a shot at a Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) district playoff bid may be at stake, the Ephrata Tigers stood their ground and defended their home on Saturday to the tune of survival of the fittest.

The Tigers would find a way to let a Trevor Flint 26th minute goal hold up in a 1-0 victory over Ellensburg to propel them into fourth place in the CWAC North with only a handful of games remaining.

“It was a tightly fought battle in which both teams knew what it meant to their playoff hopes,” Ephrata coach Keith Laughlin said. “Our midfield was able to possess well enough to create strong scoring opportunities throughout the first half and well into the second. Both teams played with great intensity and looked to build up through midfield play.”

Ephrata (5-8, 4-8) outshot Ellensburg 12-4 and scored its sole, but winning, goal, after a large buildup through the middle of the pitch, before Flint one-touched Curtis Slade’s service into the back of the net and ultimately tally the winning goal.

We had many more quality opportunities with two more shots that clanged off the post to keep Ellensburg in the game,” Laughlin said. “During the last 15 or so minutes Ellensburg upped their tempo and created some chances late in the match but the defense bent but didn’t break.  Our goalkeeper Matt Hensley had a solid game controlling the back line and having a better time distributing the ball out of the back.”