Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kodiak soccer falls short in bid to repeat as league champs

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The Cascade Kodiaks needed to beat Chelan on May 1 to repeat as Caribou Trail League champions. Chelan upset the Kodiaks 2-1 on April 12 in Leavenworth. Both teams were 6-1 coming into the game.
“We hadn’t played well in our first meeting, so this was time for redemption. Unfortunately, the game didn’t fall the way we wanted. We came out with a lot of energy and put pressure on them right away,” said Cascade Head Coach Pete Spiegel.
Arturo Avila and Efren Guerrero were relentless trying to score, to no avail. The Kodiaks had six or seven good scoring chances but could not convert. At halftime, the score was 0-0 even though the Kodiaks were dominating.
Guerrero was brought down in the box and injured his knee. Sadly, the injury ended his promising season. Not long after, Jose Rivera jumped on a bounding ball from 12-yards out and nailed it with his left foot to put the Kodiaks up 1-0.
Chelan scored the equalizer on a defensive miscue. With 10 minutes left, a Chelan player slid behind the defense and scored on a breakaway to put the Goats up 2-1. In added time, Cascade pressed for the equalizer.
Finally, it came as Jose Valdez had a free kick from 35 yard out. He found Avila on the far post, who tied the game at 2-2, sending it into overtime.
“Overtime proved to be our undoing again versus Chelan. One of their players was able to control the ball and engaged two of our defenders. He found his teammate 8-yards out who was unmarked. He slotted the ball past our goalie to claim the victory, 3-2,” Spiegel said.
Chelan won league with a 7-1 record, dropping Cascade to 6-2. Chelan earned a bye in the first round of Districts, but Cascade was forced to play Manson on May 4 in Leavenworth.
Cascade had beaten Manson 3-1 on April 23, so they were familiar with them. Cascade put a strong pressure on them right away. Avila opened the scoring with a shot from the left side, which pushed the goalie outside, leaving a path for Will Piers, who took one dribble and found the net.
The second goal came off a corner kick, which Cascade has struggled with all season.
“Raul Mata took the kick. The ball ricocheted off a player and fell to Daniel Sandoval who was lurking at the 18. Danny drilled the ball. The goalie had no chance. It remained 2-0 as we went into the half,” Spiegel said.
Manson came alive in the second half putting more pressure on the defense, but the Kodiak defenders were up for the challenge. One their players broke through the back line and was fouled in the box.
On the penalty kick, Cascade goalie Jose Mendoza guessed right and snuffed out the attempt.
“We practice PKs a lot, so Jose gets a lot of practice. The team has a ton of confidence in Jose. Last year, he was a third team all-state goalie. This year, he might be the best in the state. This save changed the complexion of the game. Instead of being up only 2-1, we were still two goals up,” Spiegel said.
With 10 minutes left, Rivera headed the ball in for the final goal as Cascade won 3-0.
Cascade played at Brewster on May 8. Results were unavailable before press time. The Kodiaks beat Brewster 4-1 on March 31. The winner earns a state berth and a spot in the District Championship against either Chelan or Bridgeport. The loser will be out. So the stakes are high.
The District Championship is on Thursday at Apple Bowl in Wenatchee.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.

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