WENATCHEE — A tie is a better way to start the season than a loss, and because of early season field conditions, Eastmont boys soccer held their opener at the Apple Bowl on Friday afternoon.
Eastmont beat the Mead Panthers last year 1-0, but this year it ended in a draw 2-2.
“I think all things considered, the score was fair,” Eastmont Head Coach Vidal Hurtado said. “Both teams had a few good looks but weren’t able to convert to win.”
The Wildcats are following a solid 11-2-2 season that ended in the opening round of state.
Eastmont and Mead struggled to find the net early on and went into halftime tied nil-nil.
Mead cracked the seal early when they sunk a penalty kick 1-0. Eastmont tied it back up when Aaron Escalara shot across the keeper to the far post 1-1. They took the lead when they finished a run up the left side, turned in on the defender, and crossed it past the keeper 2-1
“We had a lot of missed passes, some poor communication,” Hurtado said. “But we have players stepping up into new possessions, and it showed.”
The final goal to tie the game was off of a Mead free-kick and set play 2-2.
“For a number of reasons, we only had one sub,” Hurtado said. “But it was a good start to the preseason.”
Eastmont hosts Central Valley on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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