SELAH — The Ephrata girls soccer team battled league-leading Selah to a 1-1 tie through regulation play before falling in the overtime period on a corner kick during their CWAC matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Ephrata struck first, with Jill Linehan delivering the Tigers’ only goal on an assist from forward Paige Murray in the opening five minutes. Selah responded about 10 minutes later to even the score.

Coach Gary Klepec credited Murray's strong overall efforts throughout the contest. “Paige worked so hard up top, making runs, winning balls, and setting up shots,” Klepec said.

It was a challenging outing for the offense – Ephrata tallied only seven shots on goal against the host Vikings. Murray led the attack with four, Brooklynne Addink added two shots at the net, and Linehan contributed her goal.

But the Tigers' defensive unit enabled them to stay within reach. Keeper Aiyana Valle kept Ephrata in contention with 15 saves in goal while Alexis St. Mary was a roadblock across the field.

“Alexis St. Mary just played strong defense against their two best forwards and shut them down,” Klepec said. “Neither of their forwards even scored in regulation; their winning goal came off a corner kick.”

With the win, Selah stays atop the Central Washington Athletic Conference standings at 5-0 while Ephrata dropped to 2-2 in league play.

The Tigers next take the field this Saturday, Oct. 11, at noon, traveling to Yakima to face East Valley. The EV squad sits 2-1 in league play and ranks eighth in the WIAA high school RPI calculations – a mathematical ranking system used to help determine postseason seeding.

Ephrata will look to bounce back after his young team dropped an early season contest, 8-1, to the Red Devils, said Klepec, who was optimistic about the rematch.

“We have the potential to be strong against East Valley if we’re ready for it,” he said.