WENATCHEE, Wash. — A string of second-half goals by Haley Wammock, Pua Kauhaihao and Hailey Hill lifted the WWCC women’s soccer team to a 3-1 win over Wenatchee Valley in the NWAC East Region here on Wednesday.
WWCC (8-3-1 overall, 5-2-1 in the East) came away tied for second place with Yakima Valley, as the Yaks suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Columbia Basin on Wednesday.
And the Warriors did it despite a rough start here.
“I’m really happy with the players performance in the second half,” Warriors coach Jordan Hacker said. “We faced a lot of adversity today — we arrived late to the game with only 15 minutes to warm up.
“The girls really found their grove and settled in the second half and took the game from Wenatchee,” he continued. “This is a great win for us. Starting the second half of league with three points (in the standings) is huge for us.”
The Warriors and Yaks will square off in a second-place showdown at Yakima Valley on Saturday starting at noon.
Klarissa Barajas, Madison Brownell and Tatyana Aills each recorded an assist to key the Warrior comeback against Wenatchee.
“The women came out in the second half with a new fire,” Hacker said. “We created over 10 opportunities to score and converted on three.
“Sophomores led the way,” Hacker added. “Five of the six players on the attacking stats were sophomores.”
Sophomore goalie Dani Dowd, meanwhile, ended up making three saves for WWCC — all before halftime.
“The Warriors fell behind on a goal from Wenatchee,” Hacker said. “The women controlled the first half, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“The back line was holding strong,” Hacker continued. “Sophomore defender Dem McLean has played strong all year — she has kept the back line together all season — (but) one defensive mistake lead to the Knights scoring on their first clear chance of the first half.”
However, Dowd and the Warriors denied Wenatchee any other opportunities.
Hacker said, “Another dominate half was capped with (Dowd) not needing to make a save.”
