Huskies fall to East Valley 4-0
Sophomore midfielder Grace Rocha shakes an East Valley defender during Othello’s 4-0 loss to East Valley on Sept. 22, 2022.
Ian Bivona/Columbia Basin Herald
Othello senior Carla Gonzalez looks to pass the ball to a teammate while near the sideline.
Othello junior Naraiah Benavidez-Guzman rushes past an East Valley defender while on the attack.
OTHELLO — After dropping their second match of conference play on Tuesday to Ephrata, the Othello Huskies entered a home match against East Valley on Thursday, losing to the Red Devils 4-0.
“Didn’t go our way today, but hopefully it does in the next game,” Othello girls soccer head coach Juan Garcia said.
Scoring opened in the sixth minute of the match on an outside shot to the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead. 15 minutes later, the Red Devils took a 2-0 lead on a goal to the left side of the net.
“We were expecting to have a very difficult game,” Garcia said. “This year, we expect East Valley to be one of the best teams in the CWAC. We thought we had a good plan coming into the game, I think the girls were a bit shy in the first half.”
East Valley tapped in a third goal of the first half during stoppage time, allowing the Red Devils to take a 3-0 lead into the half.
“There’s a lot going through my mind – it’s constantly observing what’s going on, what adjustments we need to make,” Garcia said of the first half on Thursday. “Obviously, it’s not like the other sports where you have a timeout and can readjust, so our only time to do that is at halftime.”
The Othello defense stepped up in the second half, only allowing a goal in the 77th minute after letting up three in the first half. With the Red Devils playing strong defense throughout the match, the Huskies were shut out for the second time this season.
“We made the right adjustments at halftime, and only conceded one goal late in the second half,” Garcia said. “We hope to continue that plan going into the next game.”
Despite the loss, Garcia saw moments in play that the team can take as positives throughout the remainder of the young season.
“We had quite a few of the younger girls that stepped up today,” Garcia said of positives from the game. “We’re suffering with quite a few injuries, we’re managing through those. It’s very difficult to manage through those when you have three games a week, but they stepped up to the plate and they’re showing progression in training.”
The Huskies (3-2) will be back in action on Saturday morning, traveling to Prosser. The match will begin at 10 a.m.
Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.
GOALS:
6’ East Valley 1-0
21’ East Valley 2-0
First half stoppage time East Valley 3-0
77’ East Valley 4-0
