Moses Lake struggles to contain Goff, Lewis and Clark

MOSES LAKE — Saul Maciel drew a foul and came down hard near the left sideline.

Maciel winced as he set up to receive the free kick. A feeling that extended to Moses Lake’s play on the pitch.

Lewis and Clark controlled possession the entire evening and Moses Lake was dealt a 5-0 defeat. Lewis and Clark’s ability to attack using short passes was something Moses Lake head coach Rian Allred hoped his team could strive toward.

“LC this year is really, really high quality,” he said. “Their organization, their movement off the ball is exactly the style of play that we’re seeking to put into practice in our own team. So that’s what was the biggest positive, is in the first half we played with them and played a much, much better controlled style of soccer and we were actually able to control and possess the ball for extended periods of time.”

The Tigers were able to score five minutes into the game on a free kick that took a high, awkward bounce that was redirected into the net by Jackson Moore. Chandler Goff scored the first of his three goals eight minutes later on a run up the right wing that ended with a chip shot over the head of Moses Lake goalie Eddie Reyes.

“First half we played them solid,” Allred said. “We gave up two real easy goals, but other than that we played them pretty even. Should’ve been 0-0.”

In the second half, Goff’s work continued in the 44th minute when he was able to outrun the Moses Lake defense and loft a ball over Reyes. Zak Deutschman made the margin 4-0 with 16 minutes to play and Goff completed his hat trick in the 77th minute.

“They had so much organization and players that came from all different angles,” Allred said. “The hardest thing is helping our players recognize they have got to maintain a shape. Someone always has to be tough-tight on the ball and then someone always has to be watching runners.”

Moses Lake (1-2) begins Columbia Basin Big Nine play Friday at Sunnyside.

Othello 2, Naches Valley 0

NACHES — In its first game of the season, Othello was a little off its mark.

Othello out-shot Naches Valley 18-1, but came away with just a 2-0 victory.

“First game of the year we just couldn’t score,” head coach Bernie Garza said.

Reese Jones scored both goals for Othello off headers.

Othello hosts Class 3A Kennewick Thursday at 6 p.m.

Cheney 2, Ephrata 0

EPHRATA — Ephrata dropped a non-league contest to Cheney 2-0

Next, Ephrata travels to Mabton Thursday.

Royal 5, La Salle 0

ROYAL CITY — Michael Rojas scored twice and Royal earned a 5-0 win over La Salle.

“For us, we worked out a few bugs and identified a few more, but scored some nice goals and showed quickness in the attack,” head coach Jens Jensen said.

Danny Cuevas, Jose Ponce and Alex Contreras also scored for the Knights.

Royal travels to Wahluke Thursday to open South Central Athletic Conference play.