PASCO -- Through the years, Pasco soccer fans have been spoiled by scrappy, fast teams that played shut-down defense and took advantage on the counter-attack.
The Bulldogs got a little taste of their own medicine Saturday, losing 2-1 in a shootout to an upstart Eastmont team that completed a rare season sweep of Pasco at Edgar Brown Stadium.
The Bulldogs had hoped to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Wildcats in East Wenatchee on April 2. But Eastmont kept the pressure on in the midfield and stayed on top of Pasco forwards Ezequiel Angeles and Abner Chicas throughout the game, enough to hold them to only a mere handful of chances.
"We had some good opportunities, but there weren't too many on either side. We matched up fine. We just have to play better," said Bulldogs coach Matt Potter, who was impressed with Eastmont's effort on the road.
"They played well in both our games," he said. "It was no fluke that they beat us twice."
Pasco (10-2, 9-2 CBBN 3A) maintained a share of first place, as Southridge moved into a share of the league lead with a 3-0 win over Kennewick. Eastmont (7-6, 6-5) held on to fourth place, which would earn a first-round home game for the district playoffs on May 5.
Wildcats forward Mario Gonzalez missed his first shot wide left early in the first half, but he found some space off a counter attack in the 29th minute and lined a shot past Bulldogs keeper Jose Ramos from the right side of the 6-yard box.
"In the first half we kind of sucked, but we played better in the second half," Ramos said. "I think we both wanted it, but they may have wanted it more."
Pasco evened the score six minutes later when Derek Zimmerman won a 50-50 ball at midfield and sent it up the left flank to Abner Chicas, who was left with plenty of time and space to drive it to the back post. The ball found Zimmerman charging into the box, and he redirected it past Eastmont keeper Daniel Romero for the equalizer.
"I thought a 1-1 shootout was about where this game would be," Wildcats first-year coach Eric Duffy said. "Pasco definitely has some strong players, and our weakest point has been defense. But we showed today we were able to step up and stop No. 7 (Angeles)."
The first overtime featured two strong chances by Eastmont, but Pasco probably had the best chance to score. Midfielder Jose Madrigal caught up to a loose ball at the right side of Eastmont's penalty box and chipped a shot back towards the left post that went wide by inches.
In the shootout, the Wildcats were near perfect, hitting six of their seven spot kicks. The only exception was Omar Hernandez's low liner that Ramos dropped down to block.
Ramos nearly saved two more shots, including a seventh-round effort by Joel Villa. That shot came in low toward the center of the net, and Ramos started leaning right before adjusting at the last second before popping the ball up in the air with his left foot.
"I felt it on my toe, and I tried to turn around to get it," said Ramos, who then watched helplessly as the ball's forward momentum carried it over the goal line.
That gave Eastmont a 7-6 lead with Pasco getting one more shot to even it up. But Bulldogs freshman Miguel Chavez shot just wide of the left post to end the game.
"As long as we learn from it, we're fine," Potter said. "There's certainly not going to be any panic in our locker room."
Scoring--1, E, Mario Gonzalez (Mauricio Lopez), 29:00; 2, P, Derek Zimmerman (Abner Chicas), 35:00. Shootout goals (shootout score Eastmont 6-5)--E, Abraham Hernandez, Josh Vanassche, Mauricio Perez, Ivan Marmalejo, Gonzalez, Joel Villa. P, Isaac Sappington, Luis Castillo, Jose Madrigal, Zimmerman, Peter Titechko. Shots--E 8, P 9. Saves--E, Daniel Romero 2. P, Jose Ramos 2.
Southridge 3, Kennewick 0
Tyler Garcia had a goal and an assist to lead the Suns past the Lions at Lampson Stadium and into a first-place tie with Pasco.
Kennewick outshot Southridge 9-8, but the Suns made the most of their opportunities and got a big game from freshman keeper James Fort.
"That's his first shutout," said Southridge coach Chip Elfering. "He had to do it, and he had some very big saves."
Scoring--1, S, Bill Landefeld (Javi Gamez) 22:00; 2, S, Tyler Garcia (Jake Zoulek) 47:00; 3, S, Zach Russell (Garcia) 72:00. Shots--Southridge 8, Kennewick 9. Saves--S, James Fort 9; K, Jared Gower 5.
West Valley 4, Hanford 2
Christian Tenney had 13 saves on the day for Hanford but West Valley was still triumphant in a CBBN 3A contest in Yakima.
Mario Zarate and Jacob Bogen scored the Falcons' two goals.
Scoring--1, WV, Forrest Chapin (Jesse Esquivel) 0:32; 2, H, Mario Zarate 7:00; 3, WV, Chapin (Connor Nathe) 14:00; 4, H, Jacob Bogen 58:00; 5, WV, Tim Gibson 60:00; 6, WV, Nathe (Trevor Novobielski 66:00. Saves--H, Christian Tenney 13. WV, Dakota Borchardt 5.
Kamiakin 2, Sunnyside 1 (SO)
Kamiakin picked up its second big win in a row, edging host Sunnyside in a CBBN 3A shootout to move into a tie for fifth place with the Grizzlies.
Colten Sullivan gave the Braves a 1-0 lead at the 35 minute mark before Javier Contreras evened it up for Sunnyside in the second half.
But Kamiakin outpointed Sunnyside 3-0 in the shootout to notch the victory.
Scoring--1, Kam, Colten Sullivan (Kolten Brockman) 35:00; 2, Sun, Javier Contreras (Alfredo Gomez) 61:00 Shootout goals (Kamiakin wins shootout 3-0)--Kam, Brockman, Austin Davin, Mario Guizar. Shots--Kam 16, Sun 15. Saves--Kam, Shad Harp 12. Sun, Eddie Garcia 12.
Walla Walla 2, Wenatchee 1 (SO)
Walla Walla erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with a goal by Leonardo Pedroza and then beat Wenatchee in a CBBN 4A shootout to capture its fifth win in the last six tries.
Scoring--1, Wen, Pedro Pantaleon (Osvaldo Mejia) 31:00; 2, WW, Leonardo Pedroza 49:00. Shootout goals (Walla Walla 2-1)--WW, Adrian Tello, Jose Saldana. Wen, Bryson King. Shots--WW 21, Wen 13. Saves--WW, Andrew Glaeser 10. Wen, Angel Guerra 15.
Davis 2, Chiawana 0
Ricardo Badillo and Oscar Martinez scored first-half goals to lift Davis to a CBBN 4A shutout on the road against Chiawana, keeping the Pirates within striking distance of league-leader Richland.
The Riverhawks outshot Davis 15-13 but could not convert any chances.
Scoring--1, D, Ricardo Badillo, 24:00; 2, D, Oscar Martinez, 37:00. Shots--D 13, C 15. Saves--D, Alexes Garcia 8. C, Javier Peralta 7.
Richland 3, Moses Lake 0
CBBN 4A leader Richland got some halftime motivation from coach Octavio DoValle after a scoreless first half and netted three quick goals en route to the home win over Moses Lake.
"(The speech) was about focus and taking ownership," DoValle said. "After we talked about that, they reacted well. Right off the bat we got some goals."
Joe Virden scored in the 44th and 46th minute, and Eric Thomas capped the flurry with another in the 49th. Perry McNamar, coming back from a hamstring injury, assisted on the final two goals.
"Virden and McNamar are like twins. They play off each other," DoValle said. "Not having McNamar the last couple games really hurt us. That combination is pretty effective."
Scoring--1, R, Joe Virden (John Larson), 44:00; 2, R, Virden (Perry McNamar), 46:00; 3, R, Eric Thomas (McNamar), 49:00. Shots--ML 3, R 20. Saves--ML, Luis Villa 14. R, Nash Yamauchi 1.
Royal 4, Connell 2
Adam Martinez recorded his second hat trick in a week, leading first-place Royal to its first-ever season sweep of visiting Connell.
Knights coach Jens Jensen lauded midfielders Alex Myrick, Jose Nava, Enrique Reyes and Johnny Villanueva for their play on the wings, and praised Alex Ramirez for his effectiveness on the defensive end.
"It was a special day and a fine result," Jensen wrote in an email.
Scoring--1, R, Adam Martinez (Enrique Torres), 6:36; 2, R, Martinez, 33:02; 3, C, E.Izazaga (Ivan Barragan), 44:09; 4, R, Luis Esquivel, 46:24; 5, R, Martinez (Jose Nava), 62:54; 6, C, Jose Landa, 65:08. Shots--C 15, R 17. Saves--C, Gomez 4. R, Carlos Barajas 6, Lupe Arceo 0 (65:00).
Wahluke 2, Highland 1
Eugenio Cruz and Jorge Lopez scored for Wahluke in a SCAC 1A edging of Highland.
Scoring--1, H, Alfredo Virgen (Alfonso Cervantes) 26:00; 2, W, Eugenio Cruz (Pedro Acevedo) 52:00; 3, W, Jorge Lopez (Cruz) 58:00. Shots--H 5, W 8. Saves--H, Antonio Gonzalez 1. W, Cesar Tlatelpa 2.
