Apr. 7—OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies boys soccer team was defeated Thursday by the Selah Vikings in a dominant 5-0 loss. The loss came after a big 2-0 win over East Valley (Yakima) on Tuesday, which had the Huskies coming in on a high note.
"We beat (East Valley) 2-0," Othello coach Bernie Garza said. "We dominated. We didn't out-possess them, but we just dominated when it counted. I mean, to take them down at their place — we hadn't done that in, like, three or four years."
The East Valley Red Devils are perennial state contenders and finished fourth in Class 2A in 2024.
The Vikings would swiftly end any lingering good feelings, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before halftime. Execution errors by the Huskies and prep created a recipe for a lopsided half, Garza said.
"As I told my team, 'You can't come into this game on a high because you just beat East Valley. You've got to come in like every team is a potential team that can beat you," Garza said.
At halftime, Garza's message to the team was clear and direct.
"Win or die trying," he said.
According to Garza, the attitude shifted, and the approach was back to normal. Possession of the ball was back in Othello's favor, but even when the momentum started to swing their way and they had shots to take, Garza said, they could not capitalize.
Garza adjusted the lineup to allow the players to push upfield more and be aggressive in scoring. However, that left the defensive side of the field shorthanded, and the Vikings were able to capitalize on a breakaway ball and score a fifth goal with less than 10 minutes to go.
The Vikings took home the victory and improved to six wins. Despite the tough loss, Garza was still proud of his team's effort in the second half.
"I like the way they came back and showed some pride, even though we didn't have a goal to show for it, but it was a big highlight of the game because we could have easily lost 8-0," he said.
He hopes to redshift the focus in practice before Othello's next matchup against the Ephrata Tigers, the third conference game of the season. The new message given to the team going forward challenged the players to re-evaluate how they prepare for their games, he said.
"Practice like you've never won and play like you are undefeated," Garza said.
