Moses Lake completes season sweep of Wenatchee

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake returned to form Tuesday night with a decisive 2-0 win against Wenatchee.

The win completed a season sweep for the Chiefs over the Panthers.

Moses Lake (5-2, 8-4-1) now holds a two-match lead over Wenatchee and Davis for second place in the Columbia Basin Big Nine and the No. 1 seed in the District 6 4A tournament with three matches left.

"I got everybody back today and we played Chiefs soccer so I'm tickled with what the boys did today," head coach Bill Bertram said. "We've had a busy week last week. A lot of injuries, three games, four games in one week."

After an overtime loss with only 10 players against Sunnyside last Tuesday left Moses Lake decimated with injuries, the team lost on the road against Eisenhower without five starters on Friday.

The relaxed atmosphere of the alumni game Saturday and Bertram's willingness to give rest days instead of practicing allowed Moses Lake to recuperate in preparation for Wenatchee.

"Adrian's been battling shin splints all year and the rest always does him good," he said. "Between Johnny (Cortez) and Adrian (Vasquez) and Sean (Cotton) we have quite a threat up there with those guys."

The rest certainly did helps as a healthy Vasquez opened the scoring for the Chiefs when he assisted on a goal by Alex Reed in the 23rd minute.

Between the posts Grant Bruneel turned back all attacks by the Panthers and recorded his first solo shutout and Moses Lake second overall shutout of the year.

Previously, Bruneel had only been playing the first half. He won the full-time job with his play on the pitch and his attitude off of it.

"He's a stellar kid, I love him to death," Bertram said. "He deserves to play, he works hard in the classroom and out, he's high character, he's the man that we're going to count on the rest of the year."

Nursing a 1-0 lead in the second half, Cotton was able to power home a deflected shot by Cortez in the 62nd minute to push Moses Lake's lead to 2-0.

With only three matches remaining, two of which are on the road, every win is precious.

"Every win we get puts us a notch above," Bertram said. "We want to play at home. We don't want to travel to Wenatchee, we don't want to travel to Davis, we want to play right here (Lions Field). It's the best field in the Big Nine by far. Look at this beauty, man."

The Chiefs will travel to Davis May 2 and Eastmont May 6 before closing the season at home in a rematch against Sunnyside May 9.

"That'll be the game that everybody wants to come and see," Bertram said. "If we're healthy and we're at home Sunnyside better watch it."