Chiefs come from behind to beat Grizzlies

MOSES LAKE - Saul Maciel (Andrew Camren) scored with less than two minutes to go to break a 2-2 tie, and the Chiefs held on in the waning moments to pull out a hard fought 3-2 comeback win over Sunnyside in Big 9 soccer action at Lions Field last night.

The victory over the Grizzlies improves Moses Lake to 3-2 in the league standings and 6-3 overall.

"We made the game a little more interesting than it should've been, but I was pleased with the way the guys came back in the second half to win it," coach Bill Bertram said. "The kid's worked hard ... put their noses to the grindstone and pulled it out. It was a good solid team effort."

The match got off to a slow start offensive-wise as the teams traded possession the first 12 minutes.

The Chiefs dodged a bullet at the 27:55 mark when a kick bounced off the crossbar on an open goal as Moses Lake's keeper Grant Bruneel had fallen down. But Sunnyside made good in its next attempt seven minutes later to take a 1-0 lead.

The Grizzles made it 2-0 at the 35th minute of play, and looked to be in control of the game until A.J. Montes struck form 20-yards out to close the gap to 2-1 with two minutes left in the first half of play. The score held up through intermission.

Moses Lake determined to not let the match slip away in front of the home crowd, got a goal from Jonny Cortez (Sean Cotton) to even things up 2-2 mid-way through the second half of action.

The match appeared to be heading into overtime, but a Saul Maciel header off an Andrew Camren assist found the back of the Grizzlies box as time was winding down.

The Chiefs defense stiffened over the next 90 seconds, and Moses Lake held on to record the come-from-behind win.

"Andrew really worked his tail off to keep that ball alive," Bertram said. "And Saul was in good position to head the ball into the net for the game winning goal."

The Chiefs are back in action Saturday when Moses Lake hosts Eisenhower at 1 p.m.