Anthony Cortez's two goals lift Moses Lake over Eastmont

MOSES LAKE — Anthony Cortez was upset at halftime.

And so was the rest of Moses Lake.

The first 40 minutes of Tuesday’s game was dictated by Eastmont, who held a 1-0 lead at the break.

“I was just mad that we were playing bad and that really motivates me to do better,” Cortez said.

That motivation manifested in two second-half goals, which helped Moses Lake (3-1 CBBN, 4-3) stave off a late Eastmont rally and win its third game in a row, 3-2.

In the first half, the Wildcats controlled possession and took a 1-nil lead on a goal by Jorge Cabrera. Cabrera maneuvered up the left side of the pitch and powered a shot into the bottom right corner of the Chiefs’ net, past the outstretched arms of goalie Eddie Reyes.

Moses Lake’s best shot to score in the first half came in the 27th minute when a cross from Cortez careened off the chest of Erik Vega. However, not enough force was put on the ball to generate a serious threat of getting past Eastmont goalie Alfonso Romero.

“I was not real happy in the first half and the boys weren’t happy either and they stepped up,” head coach Rian Allred said. “We made some adjustments, switched our formation a little bit and went to a 4-5-1 to build a counter to their three center-mids in the middle and we started to man mark No. 14 (Omar Mendoza) who was their quarterback, he was making everything go, and that started to change the whole momentum.”

Moses Lake’s adjustments paid dividends early in the second half when Cortez was able to turn and fire in a goal from 20 yards out in the 46th minute, evening the game 1-1.

Just six minutes later, midfielder Miguel Segura found the ball at his feet after a throw-in. Almost perpendicular to the goal, Segura flicked a left-footed shot into the top left corner of Eastmont’s goal and suddenly the Chiefs had their first lead.

The flurry continued when Isaac Martinez played a looping cross that Cortez was able to slide and touch past Romero.

“I read what he (Martinez) was going to do an I knew he was going to cross it so I just timed my run and I knew I was going to make it,” Cortez said.

Moses Lake dug in defensively for the final 20 minutes, but Cabrera was able to sneak in one more goal for the Wildcats in the 74th minute.

The final six minutes played like a scramble with Eastmont desperate for an attack and Moses Lake frantic to possess the ball near the corners. But when the whistles sounded Allred raised both his fists into the air and jogged out to congratulate his team.

The win, the team’s third in a row, catapulted the Chiefs into a tie for first place with Davis.

“The boys just worked a lot harder, wanted it a lot more in the second half,” Allred said.

Toppenish 4, Ephrata 1

TOPPENISH — Ephrata was unable to cash in on its scoring chances and fell to Toppenish on the road 4-1.

“We came out and played them really good,” head coach Ivan Garay said. “A couple of our own mistakes gave them their goals.”

Martin Mendoza scored the Tigers’ lone goal in the second half.

Royal 1, Granger 0

ROYAL CITY — It took much longer than Royal would’ve liked, but Michael Rojas finally connected on a free kick with less than a minute to play, giving the Knights a 1-0 win over Granger.

“It was not the best we have played, but in the end, a little bit of magic was required and delivered on a free kick from Michael Rojas,” head coach Jens Jensen said.

Royal out-shot Granger 22-7.

Granger goalie Cristian Salud kept his team close with 13 saves.