Mt. Spokane misses first shot at state

Mt. Spokane will get another shot at the state soccer playoffs this weekend, which is a good thing, because the Kennewick Lions gave them very few Wednesday night.

Shots, that is, limiting the Wildcats to seven shots on goal in a dominating 4-1 victory in a 3A Regional match at Albi Stadium.

Mt. Spokane will have three days to regroup before facing Sunnyside in a loser-out game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Albi Stadium. The winner will advance to the state tournament next week.

“I think our guys are resilient enough to step away from the field and learn some of the lessons we had on the pitch today,” Mt. Spokane coach Ryan Campanella said. “We know we have a big game Saturday, but the guys have the character to bounce back, and make the passes we needed to make in this game.”

The win gave Kennewick (10-2) its first state berth since 1993. The Lions will face Eastmont, also on Saturday, with both teams advancing to state.

Mt. Spokane goalkeeper Robert Powles was tested early, with Sam Borja sending a shot from the right corner that sneaked inside the post just six minutes into the game.

After back-to-back saves by Powles, Adrian Rojo dribbled down the left side and blasted the ball under a diving Powles to make it 2-0 just 15 minutes into the match.

“Robbie has done such a good job all season,” Campanella said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time he gets those balls.”

Kennewick was sharp from the beginning, controlling the pace and the ball throughout the first half in pushing the attack. Meanwhile, the Panthers couldn’t string enough passes together against the speedy Lions to mount an effective counterattack.

Kennewick outshot Mt. Spokane 16-7.

“It was definitely a different style than what we’re used to going against,” Campanella said. “It gets interesting in postseason when you go against teams you’ve never seen before.

“They have some great talent.”

In the 32nd minute, Uriel Ramirez took a cross from the right side and headed sharply into the net for a 3-0 Kennewick advantage that spanned halftime.

Mt. Spokane made its first threat late in the half when Nick Pukitis dribbled into the box and gained a corner.

The Wildcats (10-5) got a lift early in the second half when Jack Gularte took a cross and drove it into the Kennewick net. Mt. Spokane had a couple of chances to cut the gap further before Kennewick’s Ramiro Chavez scored the clincher with nine minutes to play.