Wahluke rolls past Naches Valley, LaSalle up next
Bob Kirkpatrick/The Sun Tribune - The first half shot on goal by Alex Valdez was just wide it’s the mark. Valdez did, however, make good on his next attempt in the second half of play.
MATTAWA — The Warriors opened district action in fine fashion with a 6-0 shellacking of the Rangers in Mattawa Friday.
Wahluke, which finished runner-up in state play last year, seemed to be in control of the match from the get-go, but had trouble putting points on the board in the first 40 minutes of play.
“We opened the game with possession and time on the ball, but we could not put them into the back of the net until the 15th minute on a goal from Fernando Barajas on an assist from Alejandro Rivera,” coach Arthur de Victoria said. “We then continued to possess the ball and control the tempo of the game, but could not find another goal in the first half.”
The second half started must like the first with Wahluke possessing the ball and probing the net. But it wasn’t until the 64th minute that another score was posted. This one came off the foot of Ricardo Cabrera on an assist from William Dominguez.
The Warriors third score of the contest came from and own goal when a corner kick came in from Barajas to Edgar Villa who headed the ball towards the goal and a Naches Valley player knocked it into the back of the net.
The final three goals came in the last eight minutes of the match.
“Our fourth goal came from Alex Valdez in the 72nd minute on an assist from Ricardo Cabrera. The next one came from Javier Rosales when he received the ball on the left side of the field, went up the left side, drove toward the goal and chipped the Naches keeper on an outstanding goal for a new left sided player in the 78th minute,” de Victoria said. “The final goal of the game came from Jerardo Guerrero in the 80th minute. He received the ball on the right side of the 18-yard box, drove toward the goal, and took a strong shot to the left of the goal keeper.”
Warriors’ keeper Melchor Celaya recorded two saves in the match.
“I believe he will really be tested against a stronger La Salle team, who finished first on the West side of the league,” de Victoria said. “If we get the win, we will travel to Royal City to play for the district championship and the chance to represent District 5 as the No.1 one seed to State. If not, we will travel to Royal City to play for the opportunity to represent District 5 as the No. 3 seed.”
Wahluke was at LaSalle Tuesday, but the match was still in progress at press time. Look for the results on The Sun Tribune Facebook page Wednesday.