WP Tigers Advance

MOSES LAKE -- A playoff win against Moses Lake Christian was predicted for the WP Tigers, but what was not foreseen was the time it took for the team to score its first goal.

Just as they did earlier in the season, the Tigers beat the Lions by a wide margin, this time 6-1, but they weren't the first to get on the scoreboard.

The win gives the Tigers a 14-2-2 record for the season and sends them to the semifinals against St. George in Sumner on Friday.

Last year, they were knocked out of the playoffs in a firstround, loser-out game against Shoreline Christian that ended the first undefeated and magical WP soccer season.

On Saturday, the wet and extremely fast artificial turf field caught the Tigers off guard, allowing the Lions to score first with a booming kick about half way through the first half.

"Moses Lake was ready for us," Tigers head coach Mark Grimm said. "The field turf was wet and very fast. It took our team all of the first half to adjust to that."

Neither team scored again for the rest of the first half. The weather was another factor with 20 to 30 mile-per-hour winds, rain, sleet and even snow.

"We got readjusted at halftime and went from there," assistant coach Jay Potts told the Walla Walla Union Bulletin after the game. "We're ready to play on turf from now on out."

After the break, the Tigers came out blazing. Two minutes into the second half, Francisco Gonzalez tied the score from a Lino Diaz assist. Ten minutes later, WP moved ahead with a lone Luis Torres goal and the Tigers never looked back.

"We came out much more aggressive in the second half, scoring six goals," Grimm said.

At 18 minutes into the second period, Jesse Albarran scored on a midfield cross from Albair Escalante and at 22 minutes, Torres scored the Tigers' fourth goal on a corner kick.

With a pass from Torres, Keven Ortega scored goal number five in the game's 73rd minute and Ernesto Valdivinos put the game away with the final goal one minute before the end.

Potts credited Grimm with taking the talented Tigers this far into the playoffs after getting them to play together productively as a team. Grimm said he is pleased with his team's "offensive flow," but also said the players need to keep up their intensity throughout the game and the defense can still get better.

The Tigers' next opponent is a familiar one. St. George tied WP twice this season and barely beat them 2-1 in overtime during a playoff seeding game in Prescott two weeks ago.

If the Tigers win against the Dragons Friday, they move on to the finals in Sumner Saturday.