QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (1-0) are off to a strong start to the 2026 season after defeating the Moses Lake Mavericks (0-1) 2-0 at home, Tuesday. New Head Coach Javier Diaz was elated for his team after the win.  

“It was great,” he said. “I think it's going to hopefully set the tone on things that we look forward to this season. We have a great group, and we're just wanting to take this game as maybe a starting point to see where we can go, but just to start like that, it's good – I'm optimistic.”  

The Jacks were aggressive from the start, applying a sticky defense alongside an opportunistic attack. They got on the score board first behind a goal by freshman Allanah Longwill. From there, the Mavs controlled the ball for a majority of the remaining first half, but the Jacks defense always got the stops they needed.  

Much of the same continued in the second half until a penalty by the Mavericks in the box set up a penalty kick executed successfully by Longwill to give Quincy the 2-0 lead. They would hold Moses Lake scoreless for the remainder of the game, earning themselves their first win of the season.  

“Our defense is really great, and that's why we started with the formation that we did because we have a lot of faith in our backline, they’re very disciplined,” Diaz said. “They have speed, they have grit, they have physicality, and we saw that in the one-on-ones where they were playing, they got beat, but they recovered really well and made a really good attempt at just disrupting the potential shot.”  

Also showing up on defense consistently was goalkeeper Aylen Garcia who made multiple saves at the net, throwing her body in harm’s way in several instances. Being challenged consistently like she was could pay dividends throughout the season, Diaz said.  

“It'll help with her confidence,” the coach said. “We've only had seven practices, and we started last week as a team, but I think this game is going to be a really good confidence booster for her to reflect back on that and let her know, ‘Hey, you did great here.’ Let's get to that mentality and let's keep doing what we're doing.” 

While it’s not every day that a freshman makes an immediate impact on the varsity squad, Longwill certainly did so on Tuesday – being responsible for both goals scored in the Jacks victory. Playing alongside her in the lineup but in the defensive end of the field is her sister Briellah Longwill.  

“That helps their dynamic because Briellah is a great defender, and then Allanah is a great striker,” Diaz said. “It's going to be a special season with those (two, and) with all the girls. (We) saw her attack, and then she got the penalty kick. She popped right back up, and she wanted the ball, I mean that confidence is there.” 

For the Mavericks, opening the year with a loss is not how they anticipated their 2026 season starting. However, they came away with a lot of promising moments, Head Coach Alysha Overland said.  

“Of course it’s not easy to start the season off on a loss, but we saw a lot of good things out there,” Overland said. “We had one practice before we got to come into today's game, and I think the girls had a lot of energy throughout the game. I still feel positive going into the rest of the season, I think we saw a lot of good stuff.”  

While they were unable to punch the ball in, the Mavs attack looked strong with how aggressively they pushed the ball into Jacks territory and created shot opportunities on multiple occasions throughout the game. As they look to rebound from the loss, Overland and the Mavs just feel they need to find a way to finish on those opportunities they often create for themselves.  

“At the end of the day, we created a lot of opportunities, a lot of one-on-one opportunities. Now we just got to crush the box and finish it all the way through until it goes in the goal,” the coach said.  

Moving forward, both teams return to the pitch on Thursday. The Mavs hit the road again to plat Mt. Spokane at 6:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Jacks host Chelan at 6 p.m. While Diaz feels there’s always room for improvement, he feels this win will provide a strong confidence boost as they get further into their season.  

“It's game one,” he said. “Our situation and Moses (Lake’s) situation could be two different situations, but I think it gives the girls confidence too. They played against a good team, a good physical team, and they came out on top. They gave it their all. That's why I told them the reason you guys got cramps is because you were giving it your all. If we give it our all and we keep consistent at that pace, there's no ceiling to what the girls can do.”  

BOX SCORE: 

MLHS: 0-0: 0 

QNCY: 1-1: 2 

    The Jacks’ goalkeeper Aylen Garcia (13) dives on Kamery Char’s (16) goal attempt during their game on Tuesday.
  

    Cayla Throneberry (15) boots the ball back into play for the Mavericks during their game against the Quincy Jacks on Tuesday.
  

    The Jacks’ Arlene Bolanos (7) takes the ball away from the Mavericks attack during their game, Tuesday.
  

    The Jacks’ Brielle Baughman (20) battles for the ball with a Mavericks defender along the sideline during their game, Tuesday.
  

    Emiko Kondo (8) performs a slide tackle to knock the ball away from the Mavericks attack.