Tigers Tie St. George In Nailbiter

PRESCOTT - The two beasts of the east in Class 1B/2B soccer played to a 1-1 draw here Friday afternoon.

Though a tie may sound boring, the undefeated St. George team and two-loss Waitsburg-Prescott team made it one of the more suspenseful matches of the season.

WP controlled the tempo and attacked the tall, defen- sively-minded Dragons the entire game.

The Tigers put the initial pressure to the visitors with a series of corner kick chances 10 minutes in. Jonny Es- calante caught up to a loose ball in the left corner and drove along the baseline to- ward St. George's goalkeeper Peter Worrall. Escalante got tied up as he approached the net and lost the ball over the end line off a Dragon de- fender. WP captain Fernando Escalante sent the ensuing corner kick to the front of the goal, but St. George's Bruce Culbertson headed his shot out of bounds, setting up a second corner. The second corner boot by Aldair Es- calante missed everyone, St. George cleared and the first WP threat ended.

WP had opportunities to score again in the 14th min- ute, 25th minute, and twice in the 27th minute, before its best chance at 10:50 remain- ing in the half on a left-toright shot by Aldair Escalante from 15 yards out that Worrall scooped for his fourth save of the half.

St. George put its only shot on goal of the half in the 34th minute off a WP miscue that resulted in the Dragons' only goal of the game. The play started with a deep clearing boot from the St. George end that a lonely WP defender kicked out of mid- air instead of controlling. The ball flew sideways off his foot straight to St. George captain Camus Chapman 20 yards away. Chapman juked, rolled the ball past two WP defenders, then jumped over their legs to get past them and catch up to the ball, before sending a cross to Nathan Furbeyer. Furbeyer buried his shot into the right of the goal past WP goalie Antonio Benito who stood helplessly out of position after Chapman's pass.

The intensity level picked up in the second half. Fer- nando Escalante took shots in the 41st and 47th minutes. St. George responded with its only tries of the second half during the 49th and 51st minutes. Ty Cowles-Meyer's one- on-one charge at WP goalie Benito ended with a superb Benito kick-save to preserve the one-point deficit.

In the 55th minute WP's Rodrigo Gonzalez blasted a shot at the left of the goal that Worrall blocked with a beau- tiful hand save. The rebound ended up at the feet of Aldair Escalante who missed wide right.

Worrall stopped a Lino Diaz hard grounder from 18 yards out in the 59th minute. Diaz missed on a howitzer 8 feet above the crossbar 3 minutes later.

WP's Alberto Mendez took a corner kick in the 67th minute that was headed by St. George back to Mendez. Mendez fired the rebound into the side of the net, missing yet another opportunity to score.

With time winding down, WP settled on any shot at goal.

In the 76th minute WP's hard work finally paid off. Fernando Escalante launched a rocket through a crowd from 35 yards out. The sphere found the net high and to the left over a leaping Worrall. The goal knotted the score, 1-1. Three-and-a-half min- utes later the game ended in a draw.

WP finished with 10 shots on goal, to three shots on goal for St. George.

"First half we couldn't trap and pass," WP head coach Mark Grimm said. "We tried to kick the balls long and you can't do it against that team. They're too tall and too ath- letic. We need more touches from more players. The sec- ond half we got that going more and we kept the ball in our own half the majority of the second half."

The draw was a bit dis- concerting for WP because St. George played the game without its best player, Eric Mulholland.

"Mulholland's the player of the year candidate," Grimm said. "He's an animal-just an outstanding athlete. And he wasn't there today. He scored three goals against us up there. He's a big part of their team."

WP is now, 7-2-1, on the season. The Tigers hosts Walla Walla Valley Academy on Wednesday, and will host Irrigon, Ore. Saturday. Both games are in Prescott.