Tigers score 9 goals in win over Okanogan

EPHRATA — Five Tigers scored in Ephrata’s 9-1 win over Okanogan on Tuesday, giving the team 14 goals in its first two outings on the field.

Sophomore Delanie Killinger led the Tigers with three goals, followed by senior Aliya Avila (twice), senior Trishelle Lopez (twice), senior Kendall Laugen and sophomore Alexiyana MacNeil all scoring.

“We didn’t break each other down when someone made a mistake, we didn’t focus on one mistake – we just kept moving past it,” Killinger said. “We were really quick with the ball, and I think that improved a lot during the second half.”

Ephrata’s first goal came off the foot of Avila in the second minute of Tuesday’s game, and the senior netted her second goal just 12 minutes later. Laugen scored in the 19th minute, with Lopez scoring off a header in the 26th minute.

“Any time you can score a goal in five minutes, it completely takes their confidence away,” Ephrata Head Coach Gary Klepec said. “That was a big part of the game, and that’s a big part of every game.”

The Bulldogs added a goal of their own at the 27-minute mark, but Lopez scored her second goal of the game by tapping in a penalty shot by teammate Alessa Soto.

“We’ve worked really hard at lots of passing, lots of movement off of the ball, and we’ve got speed up top,” Klepec said. “That helps a lot too.”

All three of Killinger’s goals came in the second half, scoring in the 48th, 53rd and 72nd minutes. MacNeil also scored in the second half, firing a shot over the top of the Okanogan goalkeeper.

“That happens to me a lot, I start building up my confidence more in the second half than I do in the first half,” Killinger said. “I get used to the field more and I know what to do with the ball once I get it.”

Killinger’s first goal came off a ricochet that gave the Tigers a 6-1 lead, and the sophomore scored five minutes later on a strike from just outside the penalty box. Her third goal of the evening bounced off a Bulldog defender and into the back of the net. Klepec said the Tigers connect goals with the last offensive player to touch the ball, giving Killinger her hat trick.

“My third one was luck, honestly,” she joked.

Ephrata closes a week-long stretch of non-conference play with games against Cashmere on Thursday and Royal on Saturday. With Central Washington Athletic Conference games beginning next week, Klepec said he hopes to see strong ball movement against the Bulldogs and Knights, moving the ball both forwards and backward on the field.

“Sometimes we get in a tendency to go too forward too fast, especially when we find success that way, but there are times that we can slow the ball up, move the ball back and over to drop it and change your field,” Klepec said. “That’s one of the areas, especially when you get in those tight games and you’re up by a point, you have to slow the game down.”

Adding to the win, Klepec’s brother, Dean Klepec, is the head coach of Okanogan. The Bulldogs defeated Ephrata 3-1 in an early-season match last season.

“I’ll have to admit, it was sweet,” Klepec said with a laugh.

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

Box Score

EPH: 5-4 9

OKN: 1-0 1