Basin soccer roundup: Three top-10 teams in 1A
IAN BIVONA | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 1 week AGO
Ian Bivona serves as the Columbia Basin Herald’s sports reporter and is a graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He enjoys the behind-the-scenes stories that lead up to the wins and losses of the various sports teams in the Basin. Football is his favorite sport, though he likes them all, and his favorite team is the Jets. He lives in Soap Lake with his cat, Honey. | April 11, 2024 5:14 PM
The regular season for local soccer teams is over halfway done, as Basin squads prepare for their final stretch of league games. Teams in Quincy, Royal City and Mattawa have all found themselves in the top 10 of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Rating Percentage Index.
4A
Moses Lake
The Mavericks picked up their second win of the season with Monday’s 4-2 defeat of Cheney, Moses Lake’s final non-league contest of the season. Senior Joshua Zamora netted all four Maverick goals in Monday’s win over the Blackhawks.
Moses Lake (2-7-1) resumes Columbia Basin Big 9 play Friday with a road trip to Eisenhower before returning home to play league-leading Eastmont on Tuesday.
2A
Ephrata
The Tigers improved to 4-5-1 with Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Ellensburg, with sophomore Junior Chavez Mendoza netting both of the Ephrata goals in the win. Ephrata split both of its outings last week with a 3-1 loss to Othello on April 2 and a 1-0 win over Selah on April 4. Senior German Munoz-Toro scored Ephrata’s lone goal against Othello, while Ramon Chavez scored the game-winning goal against Selah.
Ephrata traveled to Cascade (Leavenworth) on Tuesday, but scores were not available in time for press deadline. The Tigers host Prosser on Saturday at noon.
Othello
The 6-4-1 Huskies are coming off of a loss to league-leading East Valley (Yakima) on Tuesday, falling 1-0 to the Red Devils; Othello’s only two Central Washington Athletic Conference losses have come at the hands of East Valley.
Last week, Othello defeated Ephrata 3-1 on the road; seniors Cristian Torres, Felipe Haro and Anthony Abundiz all scored in the win over the Tigers. After Thursday’s home league game against Prosser, up next for the Huskies is a road game against Grandview on Saturday at noon.
1A
Quincy
The Jackrabbits (7-2-2) snapped a two-game skid with Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Cashmere, having previously suffered losses to Cascade (Leavenworth) and The Bush School, losing 3-1 and 4-2, respectively. After Thursday’s home clash against Chelan, Quincy heads to Royal on Saturday for a match with the Knights.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Jacks check in at No. 10 in the WIAA’s RPI.
Royal
Royal improved to 7-2 with Tuesday’s win over Connell, earning the season sweep over the Eagles after previously defeating Connell 2-0 on March 12. Before a week off from games over the school’s spring break, Royal picked up a win over Warden (2-1 on March 28) and lost 2-1 to Wahluke on March 26. Senior Santiago Gonzalez scored a goal in both games, while senior Miguel Soriano-Nieto added a goal against Warden.
The Knights hosted Mabton on Thursday night and host Quincy on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Royal is ranked No. 9 in the WIAA’s RPI for 1A boys soccer.
Wahluke
The Warriors won their ninth game of the season on Tuesday, defeating College Place 6-1 to improve to 9-1 this spring. Against the Eagles, five Warriors found the back of the net; senior Diego Olivares (twice), junior Alvaro Rodriguez, junior Diego Perez, junior Luis Corona and sophomore Rafael Rodriguez. The match came after a nearly two-week break from Wahluke’s last outing, when Olivares had a hat trick and Corona scored twice in a 6-0 win over Kiona-Benton on March 28.
Wahluke, the No. 2 team in the WIAA’s RPI 1A boys soccer rankings, hosted Ellensburg on Thursday night and travels to Warden on Saturday.
Warden
The Cougars evened their record at 4-4-1 with Tuesday’s convincing win over Kiona-Benton, defeating the Bears 5-0 at home. Warden traveled for a road game against College Place on Thursday night, and turns around to host Wahluke on Saturday at 1 p.m.