Moses Lake handles Eastmont, wins eighth in a row

MOSES LAKE - Alysha Overland in the open field is something no defender wants to see.

Thursday against Eastmont, the Moses Lake forward was able to get loose and score two goals in the first 11 minutes of the match to help power the Chiefs (9-0, 11-1-1) to a 4-0 win, the team's eighth in a row.

"I get kind of surprised I guess because I feel like I should have someone right there with me because whenever we're practicing there's always someone right there so that's what I'm used to and then I get out in the open and I'm just gone," Overland said.

Last season as a junior, Overland set a school single-season goals record with 25 and finished with 29 total goals after Moses Lake's playoff run had finished.

After a pair of goals against the Wildcats (3-6, 4-8), Overland now sits at 27 on the year - breaking her old mark with three matches left to play in the regular season.

A feat she was unaware of until before the match against Eastmont.

"It's really exciting," Overland said. "I wasn't really keeping track and then my mom told me before this game ... It's really exciting."

Throughout most of the season, head coach Ric Char has had to get creative with a limited bench. But against the Wildcats the Chiefs finally had a group of reserves Char could employ.

"Now that everybody's back it starts to get really competitive now ... Girls were taking things for granted, now they can't," he said. "They know they've got four or five girls on the bench ready to go in and step in and make a difference for our program. It's really nice, it's a luxury."

Overland's two goals within the first 12 minutes held up for a majority of the first half until midfielder McKenna Walker scored her second goal in as many matches with three minutes to go until intermission.

The Chiefs maintained their 3-0 lead until halftime. Mikaela Loudon punched in Moses Lake's final goal with 16 minutes to go in the match off an assist from Jamie Loera to bring the final score to 4-0.

It was Moses Lake's third shutout in a row. The Chiefs have had a stingy defense all season, allowing just 12 goals. That number is tied with West Valley (Yakima) for tops in the Columbia Basin Big Nine.

"Jessie (Loera) and Abby (Rathbun) in the middle they're just solid," Char said. "They've been playing there all season and it just takes some confidence on Abby's part to come in. She's starting as a freshman and it's pretty rare now with the last couple years to be a freshman starter on varsity so she's doing really well.

"She's a big, intimidating body ... And Jessie's just so smart and athletic. It's hard to break that, especially when they get going."

Moses Lake will host West Valley Oct. 23. In the first meeting on Sept. 30 the Chiefs welcomed the Rams to the CBBN by handing them a 4-1 loss. Walker sat out that match, still recovering from her knee injury. She thinks Moses Lake will have to increase its intensity to complete the season sweep and clinch at least a share of the CBBN league championship.

"I think definitely just watching kind of helped me a little bit that one thing we're going to have to work on is that we're going to pick up the intensity," Walker said. "We're sitting on top of the league right now so they're definitely going to come out to get us.

"We're just going to have to want it more, I guess, more than them because that's what it's going to come down to is who wants it more."

The Oct. 23 match against West Valley will also be Senior Night. A coronation for a group that has accomplished so much in their four years at Moses Lake.

"It's definitely going to be emotional, that's for sure, for everyone," Overland said. "I'm sure there's going to be some tears and everything because it's going to be one of the last times we're going to be playing on this field and it's going to be really emotional, but I'm excited for it."