Cascade soccer starts the season 2-2 against good competition

Last season, Cascade was undefeated all the way to the state semifinals. Coach Pete Spiegel predicted his team probably would not be undefeated again. Boy, was he right. The Kodiaks lost their very first game of the season at Ephrata, 3-1.
For the Kodiaks, it was only their third time on a field on March 10.
“The first game is one where you are able to shake the jitters out and get your feet under you. We didn’t play up to our potential, but didn’t play poorly either,” Spiegel said.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the 20th minute on a cross that was misplayed. Ephrata scored again before half and went to the locker room up 2-0.
“We tried a different formation and it paid dividends in the second half. Freshman Efren Guerrero found Arturo Avila at the penalty spot and he snuck it past their goalkeeper. This breathed new life into our team,” Spiegel said.
Unfortunately, the Tigers scored again in the 65th minute as there was a miscommunication between players.
On March 13, Cascade played at Sultan. It was raining as the team headed west. The Kodiaks put pressure on the Turks from the start and did not let up. The Kodiaks were up 5-0 at the half.
“Sultan was out-matched, they just weren’t able to play at our speed. Arturo Avila kept his scoring streak intact, scoring two goals. Efren Guerrero scored two, Julian Alvarez had two and Danny Sandoval had the nicest goal of the night, settling a high pass and slotting it into the upper corner. We were able to play a lot of players who typically don’t get a chance to see varsity action,” Spiegel said.
Cascade won 7-0.
On March 15, Cascade played at Quincy. The Jacks were coming of a close loss to a very good Wenatchee team, so Spiegel knew it would be a tough match up. In the 23rd minute, Ricky Barragan hit a free kick to the head of Jose Valdez for the team’s first goal. Cascade led 1-0 at the half.
In the second half, Arturo “Cholo” Avila scored his first goal off a corner kick from Eddy Camarena.
“Cholo broke free from his defender and headed the ball home. On his second goal, Julian Alvarez sent Cholo behind the Quincy defense. His left footed shot beat the goalkeeper to make the score 3-0,” Spiegel said.
Quincy responded, but keeper Jose Mendoza kept coming up with big saves.
“He wasn’t able to stop a shot from the spot after we were called for a penalty however. Cholo scored his last goal on a free kick as the game ended,” he said.
The Kodiaks prevailed 4-1.
Last Saturday, they traveled to Seattle to play King’s Academy. Kings was able to score a goal in the first half and made that stand up as they won 1-0.
“Their defense was especially strong. We tried to play the ball long too much instead of trying to work the ball up the field,” Spiegel said.
On March 20, Cascade hosted 2A Selah. Results were not available before press time. On Thursday, they open league play at home against Okanogan. On Friday, they play at 2A Prosser. Next Tuesday, they are at rival Cashmere.
“This coming week we will be able to play on our own field. We are excited,” Spiegel said.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.