EPHRATA — Two goals by Ephrata in the final 10 minutes sealed the draw in Tuesday’s non-league game against Moses Lake, ending the game in a 3-3 tie. 

Moses Lake led for most of the second half until the Tigers went on the attack late in the game.

“We knew the urgency — that was something we had gone through in practice and had actually drilled that,” Ephrata Head Coach Ivan Garay said. “The last 10 minutes, if we were down, what pace, what urgency, wanting to get shots in. It was something that we told ourselves if we are in this scenario, we have to know how to play without panicking but still play with an urgency to score.”

With Moses Lake up 3-1 late in the game, the Tigers got back within one on a shot from senior German Munoz-Toro from outside the penalty area, making it a 3-2 game in the 73rd minute. Three minutes later, the Tigers evened the score at 3-3 on a goal by junior Dominic Fuhrman.

“We just switched mentalities and went on the attack,” Fuhrman said. “Just started shooting more, and the goals started to fall.”

The Tigers got possession of the ball back on a steal by sophomore Junior Chavez Mendoza Jr., with senior Eduardo Gonzalez finding Fuhrman for the goal.

“I went out wide and (Gonzalez) set me up in that situation,” Fuhrman said. “It was an easy tap-in from there.”

Both sides had shots on the net late in the game, but couldn’t convert for goals; the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

“Any time that you fall behind and you’re able to come back, it just shows the guys you coach, and we’ve got guys that fight from the beginning to end,” Garay said. “We don’t give up, we pride ourselves in that. It shows us that if we get put in that situation again, we can do it again.”

Ephrata opened the scoring with a goal by sophomore Avian Soto in the 13th minute. Moses Lake answered with a goal on a penalty shot by senior Joshua Zamora in the waning minutes of the first half, then added two more goals in the 41st and 58th minutes on shots by sophomore Miguel Arreola and Zamora, respectively.

“In soccer, if you can get that first goal in it builds up that confidence and helps you get the pressure off your back,” Garay said. “You can play a little more free. It’s definitely something we look for every game, to try and get that first one early.”

With the tie, Moses Lake stands at 0-1-1 and the Tigers are 1-0-1. Ephrata opened the season with a 3-2 win over East Valley (Spokane) while the Mavs lost 5-0 to Lewis & Clark.

“We were feeling good, but we still are feeling like we are building,” Garay said. “We are building to our plan to how we want to be able to execute a plan for 80 minutes. I feel like we can execute for a good portion of the game, but I want to be able to execute our game plan for the full 80 (minutes).”

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

Box score

Mavs: 1-2 3
Tigers: 1-2 3

    Moses Lake sophomore Kyre Wiltbank, in white, looks to pass the ball to a teammate in the first half of Tuesday’s game against Ephrata.
  

    Ephrata sophomore Avian Soto (9) opened scoring with a goal in the 13th minute of Tuesday’s game against Moses Lake.
  

    Ephrata sophomore Junior Chavez Mendoza Jr. (7) moves upfield with the ball in the first half against Moses Lake.