Warriors survive comeback bid, defeat College Place 3-2

MATTAWA — After College Place tied the match at three late in the second half, Wahluke responded with two goals in two minutes to seal a 5-3 win over the Hawks, improving to 3-2 on the season. 

Wahluke bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Royal last week with Tuesday’s win. 

“This year, we’re seeing all the experience — if we win, we learn from that, if we lose, we learn more from that,” head coach Cele Lopez said. “We’re taking it one step at a time, so it’s really good to bounce back from that last game.” 

Despite possessing the ball well through the first 20 minutes, the Warriors found themselves down 1-0 after College Place scored the first goal of the game in the 18th minute of Tuesday’s match; Wahluke had been able to advance the ball up the field but couldn’t connect on shots for goals. 

Sophomore striker Ashya Erazo, who finished with a hat trick, said she took it upon herself to answer the early College Place goal; the sophomore scored her first goal four minutes later off an assist by senior Maria Barajas.  

“(I realized) ‘Man, I’m not making anything for the team — striker, that’s my position, to score,’” Erazo said. “That’s what hit to me, that I need to score. The team wants it, the team is doing its job, the defense is doing their job. Now I need to do my job.” 

Erazo scored again in the 27th minute. 

“That feeling of scoring is a feeling of relief,” Erazo said. “We got one down, now we need to keep going. When it’s the first goal it’s always still 0-0, because you can still score.” 

Moving Barajas, a center back, up top opened the Warrior attack, Lopez said.  

“I tried to give her a bump up on top because she’s strong, she’s fast and it definitely made a difference on our attack,” Lopez said. “Every time we get in trouble, we can find her as an option.” 

Four of the five Wahluke goals scored on Tuesday afternoon were scored off extra passes to teammates in front of the net. 

“If we see that the defenders aren’t fast enough and I can beat them, then we send long passes – but also our wings, we always communicate,” Erazo said. “When I’m getting those passes, I make sure to look either side. If I see that I can’t make it, I know that my wingers are there for me.” 

Lopez noted the extra passes as a positive. 

“That’s what you want to see, you want to find other players to take the position,” Lopez said. “... that’s really good that they were able to look up, find another option and execute. If they finish, that’s good, if they pass, it’s even better if it’s an open player. I’m really happy that they’re finding the options.” 

Wahluke took a 3-1 lead in the 48th minute with a goal by freshman Alexandra Rodriguez, though the Hawks tied the match with goals in the 62nd and 69th minutes. The draw was short-lived, as Erazo scored her third goal in the 71st minute on an assist by freshman Keyla Garduno and senior Melany Meza Mendoza added another goal in the 73rd minute with an assist by Erazo. 

“We cannot be comfortable,” Lopez said. “Even if the score is two-over on the board, we cannot get comfortable, stay in our bubble and say, ‘Hey, we’re good. Three is enough.’ Hopefully, we can relax and keep grinding as if it’s a 0-0 game.” 

Lopez said effort was the difference in pulling off the win. 

“I’ve seen a lot of progress since the beginning of the season, so I think we’re on the correct path,” Lopez said. “I told the girls to look for that inner (will) to go fight for the ball, so we’re getting there.” 

Wahluke travels to Naches Valley for a league match Thursday. The two teams will hit the pitch at 6 p.m. 

    Wahluke senior Melany Meza Mendoza (9) brings the ball toward the College Place net late in the match on Tuesday afternoon. The senior scored in the 73rd minute of the match.
  

    Wahluke senior Maria Barajas assisted on the Warriors’ first goal of the match Tuesday against College Place.