Knights fend off the Warriors at home
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 4 weeks AGO
Anderson Brown (5) and Rafael Rodriguez (12) pursue the ball during their game Tuesday. The Royal Knights defeated the Wahluke Warriors 2-0.
MIKE MAYNARD/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
The Wahluke Warriors’ Hector Contreras (4) pushes the ball up the field as Jeonatan Dircio (26) chases closes behind.
The Wahluke Warriors’ Rafael Rodriguez (12) races a Royal defender for the ball during their game Tuesday.
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (3-0-2) defeated the Wahluke Warriors (3-1-1) 2-0 Tuesday. Royal Assistant Coach Adan Martinez said their previous games leading up to Tuesday prepared them for this game.
“One of the games that we had over the weekend, playing Vashon Island, that really helped the boys get into the rhythm of playing physical and that definitely prepared them for today's matchup. We know they're going to play their best against us, and we definitely have to respond,” Martinez said.
Royal Head Coach Jens Jensen missed Tuesday’s game due to a double yellow card from their game against Vashon Island, according to an assistant coach. However, the Knights still executed the game plan with two goals in the first half by Brian Amado and Cristian Nieto to take a 2-0 lead over the Warriors at halftime. In the second half, Wahluke made pushes to attack the Knights defense and get on the board, but Royal was prepared and prevented any goals until time ran out.
“We created a lot of chances today, but we couldn't punch them in,” Wahluke Head Coach Cele Lopez said. “Hopefully we can get some physicality in the future and teach the boys to be a little bit more confident (on the field).”
The Warriors did their best to challenge the Knights at both ends of the field, but they were able to respond with physicality, Assistant Coach Ty Miller said.
“They're playing from the defensive line to the midfield. They pick you apart with wall passes, and they were doing that to us; luckily, we were able to shut them down from shooting and being dangerous with their strikers,” Martinez said.
The Warriors return several starters this season, but plenty of freshman players who seem timid on the field, Lopez said. As the season progresses, he is hopeful one of his upperclassmen can fill the leadership role for the team and help bring the younger guys along.
“We need a guy that motivates everyone, stays positive (and) keeps everybody engaged,” he said.
As they look ahead, Lopez is confident his players can learn from the loss and turn their season around.
“Royal worked harder than us. We're pretty similar in style, we have good players, we have physical players, but they worked harder today than us,” Lopez said. “We pushed at the end with everything we had, but they were smart. They scored when they needed it, and I think that's the lesson to learn today, that we need to be have a little bit more of the punch when we need to score, when we need to put the games away and not wait for the last minute... I'm confident enough that we're going to make some adjustments and we're going to come back stronger.”
For the Knights, they look forward to carrying this momentum forward into the rest of the season, Miler said.
“This is definitely a big game, (we’ll) just hopefully ride the momentum, keep going and let the cards fall where they will,” Miller said.
The Warriors return to the pitch Thursday to host Toppenish at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the Knights hit the road to play the Cashmere Bulldogs Thursday at 6 p.m. Their next home game is set for March 21 when they host Connell at 1 p.m.
BOX SCORE:
WHLK: 0-0: 0
ROYL: 2-0: 2
ROYAL ROSTER:
Name, Jersey
Reinaldo Perez, GK
Armando Rojas, GK
Carlos Villafana, 2
Adrian Padilla, 3
Scout Stevenson, 4
Anderson Brown, 5
Jose Leyva, 6
Elmer Gonzalez, 7
Brian Amado, 8
Dannis Ramos, 9
Ernesto Deras, 11
Cristian Nieto, 12
Brayan Miron, 16
Diego Hernandez, 17
Carlos Barajas, 18
Jose Orozco, 19
Bade Jensen, 20
Luis Rodriguez, 21
Shea Stevenson, 23
Jeonatan Dircio, 26
WAHLUKE ROSTER:
Name, Jersey
Jonathan Gatica Ramirez, 1
Adrian Avalos, 2
Gadiel Santiago Garcia, 3
Hector Contreras, 4
Alexander Adame, 5
Moises Antunez, 6
Jan Hernandez, 7
Aiden Miramontes-Ramirez, 8
Alan Nazario, 9
Ethan Moreno, 10
Baldrick Gomez, 11
Rafael Rodriguez, 12
Miguel Valdovinos, 13
Alan Arroyo, 14
Christopher Barajas-Ortiz, 15
Carlos Ortiz Manzano, 16
Icker Lopez, 17
Bryan Esquivel, 19
Franco Perez, 20
Salvador Ledesma Rangel, 21
The Wahluke Warriors’ Hector Contreras (4) pushes the ball up the field as Jeonatan Dircio (26) chases closes behind.
The Wahluke Warriors’ Rafael Rodriguez (12) races a Royal defender for the ball during their game Tuesday.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Mavericks’ Borchert to continue softball in college
MOSES LAKE — The Mavericks’ Amilia Borchert has committed to St. Cloud State University to join the Huskies softball program, she said. Though the Minnesota-based school is far from home, she has some connections there that will help her transition. “I’ve got a lot of family there,” Borchert said. “They also have the major I’m looking for; they have mass communications/sports broadcasting which is what I really want to do.” Her interest in this field began developing at a young age, she said.
Vikings volleyball hosting day camp for local athletes
MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings volleyball program is hosting a day camp on June 26 for local Basin high school athletes. Head Coach Lindsey Linthicum said this is a great opportunity for these athletes to get a feel for college volleyball. “I will do a questionnaire at the end of the camp that gives the girls an opportunity to say, ‘How do you run a camp or not camp? How do you run a program, what are my best options if I am looking into a college?’ and things like that,” she said. “If they have the idea of wanting to do something like that, it really helps them to get the gears going, so they can start doing their own research and figure out what works best for them.”
From World Cup call-ups to NCAA breakthroughs, local colleges make news
MOSES LAKE — Even when the academic calendar reaches its end, college athletics continue their work into the summer. See below some of the latest headlines from local Washington colleges.