Othello refuses to lose

OTHELLO - The Huskies soccer team remains undefeated with a 4-0 shut out victory over Prosser at home Tuesday.

The win improves Othello to 5-0 to give the team its best start in coach Bernie Garza's 19 years at the helm of the boys soccer program.

"We have never started the season 5-0 and this year looks to be a special year," Garza said. "We have the talent to go far, we just need to stay focused and be motivated to win every time out."

The match against the Mustangs had very little scoring in the first half of play. But Jessie Villareal (Jorge Campos) got Othello on the scoreboard at the 38 minute-mark to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. It was the only goal in the first  40 minutes of action.

The second half of play saw the Huskies offense heat up as Othello scored three times. The first goal came at the 48th minute on a goal Ociel Romero (Miguel Penaloza) to put the Huskies up 2-0. Fredy Augustine  found the back of the box off Campo's second assist of the match to stretch the lead to 3-0. The fourth and final score of the game came at the 68 minute-mark by Enrique Romero (Augustine) to seal the win, 4-0.

Othello out shot Prosser 19-5. Keeper Martel Saucedo, who posted his fourth shutout of the season, had four saves for the Huskies.

"We've been playing really well on defense and shutting teams down," Garza said. "When we do break down and make mistakes our goalie, (Saucedo), has been making some key stops.  We haven't really played anyone who has challenged us and it's still early on the season, so we still need to work on not over committing to players fakes. We're getting better at this every game."

Garza, happy with his defensive output as the team has only given up two goals to date, said the Huskies still have work to do offensively if they expect to keep things rolling.

"Our offense seems to be struggling in the first half of games and not scoring," he said. "But after half time we start scoring and having fun and the route is on." 

Othello was back on the pitch Thursday but the results of the match were unavailable at press time. The Huskies travel to Ephrata to take on the Tigers Saturday. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.