Denali Knowles scores twice; Moses Lake beats Sunnyside 4-1
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake defender Denali Knowles places a shot just under the outstretched leg of Sunnyside keeper Morgan Duim for a goal Thursday at Lions Field.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake forward Abby Rathbun (22) battles for the ball against Sunnyside defender Chastitee Garza Thursday at Lions Field.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Morgan Skone (12) looks for a pass against Sunnyside Thursday at Lions Field.
MOSES LAKE — In a game that will be replayed Saturday afternoon for much higher stakes, head coach Ric Char and Moses Lake wanted to make a statement.
Four unanswered goals should do the trick.
Denali Knowles scored twice and Moses Lake overcame an early 1-0 deficit to beat Sunnyside 4-1.
“We just wanted to get that momentum for Saturday's game,” Char said. “More than likely we're going to play Sunnyside on Saturday for the first round and we wanted to let them know there was no chance of them competing with us for Saturday.”
Despite the lopsided final, the Grizzlies did compete throughout the first half and took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute after a shot looped over the head of Moses Lake goalie Abbigail Rosenow.
Rosenow's counterpart, Sunnyside goalie Morgan Duim, made several key saves in the first half and finished with seven total. Duim's most impressive sequence came when she blocked a pair of shots by Abby Rathbun and Christina Mullan from point blank range.
“She definitely stopped a lot of our shots and that was really keeping them in the game,” Knowles said.
Knowles provided the equalizer in the 35th minute, flicking a pass from Abby Rathbun just under the outstretched leg of Duim.
“Huge momentum boost for us,” Char said. “Obviously you're getting frustrated when you're pounding the goal and nothing is going in and we can get one right before the half to carry us into the second and I think we did well in the second half.”
Moses Lake took the lead for good in the 45th minute when Rathbun nudged in a rebound after Duim made another leaping save. Less than 10 minutes later, Mullan assisted on a pinpoint shot from Morgan Skone that landed in the bottom left corner of the goal, giving the Chiefs a 3-1 advantage.
Knowles put the game on ice with her second goal in the 78th minute on a free kick.
“I was just trying to hit it on frame far post,” she said. “Maybe hit Abby on the far side and it just went in so that was a plus.”
Moses Lake will host Sunnyside again Saturday in a district play-in game at 1 p.m.
“We are a viable contender for playoffs,” Char said.