Wahluke rallies to halt Royal, 2-0

MATTAWA - Wahluke soccer coach Arthur DeVictoria's plan for the SCAC season finale at home with Royal could not have worked out any better.

DeVictoria's boys rallied in the second half for a 2-0 win that gave the Warriors a 13-3 record and third place.

Royal finished fourth at 10-6, including an earlier defeat of Wahluke that kept the Warriors out of first. Both teams advanced to the 1A district playoffs.

The wind was blowing strongly from the west when Royal arrived at Wahluke, and the Warriors played into the wind first. Their goal was to keep things close, and it worked. Both offenses took eight shots, but neither scored.

With the wind at their back in the second half, the Warriors went on the attack immediately. Taking the ball the length of the field with a slick passing game, they scored in less than a minute. The score was by Arnaldo Bravo off a pass from Alexis Anaya.

Twelve minutes later, the Warriors came back with another score. This one was by Ramon Bravo off a feed by Manuel Rodriguez.

The Warriors just missed on two more goals. On the first, with about 10 minutes left, Ramon Bravo dribbled across the end line, past a goal protected by only the goalie.

"I kicked the ball too hard, and I couldn't catch up to in time to take the shot," Bravo said.

On the second near miss, a shot caromed off the crossbar to a Warrior who had an open net from 20 yards. His header veered right and away from the goal.

Wahluke was dominant in the second half, taking 11 shots to five for Royal. Alan Caro had seven saves for the Warriors, Miguel Alvarez five for the Knights. The teams were even on fouls, with nine each.