Huskies become district champs

RICHLAND – The Huskies (13-4-2) became 2A District champions in the Central Washington Athletic Conference after their 2-0 victory over Grandview at Rich Leenhouts Stadium. 

“We haven’t won it in the past four years,” said Huskies head coach Bernie Garza. “The seniors took it to heart, so it was a great feeling for them to get that win and for their reaction, where they’re happy and all smiles.” 

The Huskies had previously lost to Grandview earlier in the regular season, which placed them in the number three spot, eventually leading to them going head-to-head in the district championships, he said. The team had quite a few key players return in good health going into the Tuesday matchup. 

Grandview won the coin toss and decided to go with the wind in the first half of the game, putting the Huskies in a more defensive play style to start. The Huskie defense held off the Greyhounds for a scoreless first half. 

“Going against the wind is tough, you can still score, but it’s tough,” said Garza. “When you’re defending against the wind, goalie punts, goal kicks, everything just flies.” 

Othello then went into the second half with the wind on their side, where with nine minutes left to play, Danny Gonzalez beat two defenders in the midfield and passed the ball to Larry Maldonado, who then scored a goal from about 25 yards out, said the coach. Both teams had multiple shots at the goal, with Othello having 10 and Grandview with eight. 

The second goal was made in the final minute of added time when JV defender Edgar Sanchez got the ball at the 10-yard line after a corner kick and carried it to Jose Cabrera. Grandview’s goalie had come up next to Cabrera, allowing the Huskie to kick the ball over the goalie’s head and go around him for a score, said the coach. 

“I think that was Jose’s 25th goal of the season so far, so he’s stepping up,” said Garza. 

Their win on Tuesday automatically qualifies the team for the state championship tournament coming up next week. At the time of publication, it is currently unknown what the matchups will be going into the start of the tournament on Tuesday. 

To prepare for the start of the state tournament, the Huskies are going to continue working on possession, shooting, defending and conditioning. Garza said they will likely be playing on the road going into the tournament. 

“It’s kind of difficult because right now you don’t know how to prepare,” said Garza. “You just kind of prepare as normal, work on all phases of the game.” 

The schedule and rankings for the 2A State Soccer tournament will be released this Sunday and will be published in the Tuesday edition of the paper.  

BOX SCORE:  
OTHL: 0-2: 2
GRAN: 0-0: 0 

    Head coach Bernie Garza gets the cooler dumped on him after the game as the team celebrates. Garza said this was a big win for the seniors and JV players who participated in the game.
  

    Jose Cabrera from the Huskies scored the final goal of the game in the last minute of play which resulted also resulted in the player receiving a bloody nose through contact with the goalie. Both players were fine after the game and Cabrera celebrated the victory with his teammates.
  

    Asaph Alfaro battles against a Grandview player for possession of the ball. The Huskies put up a strong defensive front throughout the entirety of the game.
  

    Carlos Acevedo celebrates the Huskies victory on the sideline after the game. This game was the first time the team has won the district championship in four years.