Huskies advance

OTHELLO – After Grandview tied the game with a goal in the final minutes of the second half, the Othello Huskies answered in penalties to defeat the Greyhounds 3-2 and advance to next week’s Central Washington Athletic Conference championship game.

“It feels good knowing that we beat Grandview,” Othello junior Anthony Abundiz said. “They were the team that we had to beat, and we beat them.”

Grandview struck first in Wednesday’s CWAC semifinal match, scoring a goal in the seventh minute to take a 1-0 lead that carried on to halftime.

Abundiz tied the game on a header 11 minutes into the second half, taking advantage of no Grandview players clearing the ball from out in front of the net.

“It felt really good tying the game up and giving some momentum,” Abundiz said. “I just saw the ball come down to me. I wanted to help the team – I saw it bouncing, and it went in. It’s a blur.”

Junior Jose Cabrera gave Othello the lead in the 58th minute, tapping in a ball that was dropped by the Grandview keeper for a 2-1 lead. Cabrera later scored on the first Huskie penalty kick attempt.

“Jose (Cabrera) did an awesome job on that go-ahead goal,” Othello Head Coach Bernie Garza said. “To score the first PK – he has ice in his veins.”

The Huskies held a 2-1 advantage until the final minutes of the second half, where the Greyhounds pushed through a stout defensive setup to score a goal and tie the game in the 76th minute.

“It showed our character, coming back and scoring two goals,” Garza said. “We parked the bus – we played five defenders and five midfielders, and we had no offense. They got lucky and had their main guy open, and they scored a beautiful goal. We’re gambling on just running out the clock, and we almost did.”

After the two squads failed to score in either overtime period, the district semifinal match went into a penalty shootout. Cabrera and Abundiz both scored to start the shootout, which were both answered by Grandview shots to remain tied. Grandview and Othello traded misses, and after Huskie sophomore Ruben Mancilla gave Othello a 4-3 lead, the Greyhounds missed the answering kick to give Othello the win.

“You’re on the brink of going to the back side of the bracket, and then now we’re going to the championship,” Garza said. “We’re making the road a lot easier, to go to the state playoffs.”

Garza noted the play of sophomore goalkeeper Ismael Torres helped throw a wrench in the approach of the Greyhounds during the penalty shootout.

“Ismael (Torres), he juked him back and forth and made them double-guess where they’re going to going,” Garza said. “It’s not that they miss, it’s that the goalie has a little bit to do with that.”

The head coach also credited junior Jack Sorensen for stepping in and playing at left defender on Wednesday night.

“He was all over the place,” Garza said. “He wasn’t even a starter, he came off the bench and took over the game. Unstoppable.”

Othello was swept by the Greyhounds in the regular season, losing 4-1 at home on March 25 and 3-1 on the road on April 15.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times, but they almost did it,” Garza said. “The third one’s the charm for us. Somehow, they have our number.”

Othello plays East Valley (Yakima) in the CWAC finals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Grandview High School. The Huskies split the regular season games against the Red Devils, losing 2-1 on March 21 and winning 1-0 on April 11.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

GRV: 1-1

OTH: 0-2

Penalties

OTH: 1-1-1-X-1 4

GRV: 1-1-X-1-X 3