EPHRATA — Wrapping up its 2026 spring season earlier this week, Ephrata boys soccer more than doubled last year's win total, led by a group of seniors that head coach Ivan Garay said left a positive mark on the program.

The Tigers' bid for a postseason run ended Saturday, May 2, with a 2-1 double overtime loss to Othello during a district play-in match. They closed out the season with a 2-1 win at Soap Lake on Monday, May 4, a courtesy game added after the Eagles' Senior Night opponent backed out.

The Tigers finished 8-10 overall and 3-5 in the always tough Central Washington Athletic Conference, a sharp climb from the 3-12-1 record they ended on a year ago.

Garay said one match stood out as the moment his Tiger team earned their stripes.

"I think the game against Toppenish was a game that showed who we were and how good we could play against top competition," Garay said.

He was referring to Ephrata's 5-2 win on April 21 over Toppenish, which was ranked 10th at the time. Sophomore Yahizee Alvarado led the Tigers' offense, punching in a hat trick, and the victory evened their record at 7-7. The win also evened an old score — the Wildcats had ended Ephrata's 2025 season during a district play-in match.

But Garay said he was most proud of his players this spring in a match they lost.

"The Toppenish result is definitely our best result, but I was really impressed with our game against Quincy," he said. "I could truly see from the boys that we wanted that one bad and we gave it everything we had. We played with a lot of heart in that game. Gave everything we had."

Four of the Tigers' last eight games went to overtime. Ephrata split a pair of penalty shootouts with Othello and Quincy in early April, then dropped extra-time decisions to Prosser in the regular season and Othello in Saturday's district play-in.

Entering this spring, Garay felt Ephrata's back line was his program's biggest concern. By the end, it had become one of its strengths.

"Coming into the season, our back line had the most openings that we had to fill," he said. "All the guys that played in the back line really stepped up and grew throughout the season. The growth in our back-line players really impressed me."

Asked where he saw the most growth from the first day of practice to the final whistle, Garay said it was in his players' confidence.

"As the season went, I felt guys got more comfortable and confident in their roles," he said. "Playing confident really helped us play our best."

That growth showed up most clearly in rematches.

Ephrata dropped its first meeting with state-ranked East Valley 6-0, but went on to limit the CWAC-leading Red Devils to a 2-0 result in the April 18 rematch, with sophomore keeper Isaac Blancas making 11 saves. The Tigers also split their regular-season series with Othello, taking the second meeting 5-4 on penalty kicks before falling to the Huskies in the postseason.

The Tiger offense was the second-highest scoring team overall in the CWAC, finishing with a season total 47 goals, just three behind league-leading Toppenish's 50. 

Tiger seniors Ricky Alvarez, Manny Mejia Chavez, Erick Perdomo, Damian Santa Cruz, Avian Soto, Jason Aleman, Junior Chavez, Tony Hernandez and Ruben Ramirez closed out their prep soccer careers this spring.

"Seniors this year definitely left a mark on the program. They were leaders, they were talented and they were all in," Garay said. "I got to know these seniors very well, and I enjoyed the conversations and memories I made with them. They were all very different, but they all had the love of the game in common."

Garay said replacing that group will not be easy, but he expects their departure will be offset by the valuable experience gained this season by the Tigers' 12 returning underclassmen.

"Our seniors are amazing players and replacing them will not be easy," he said. "However, I feel that this team had a lot of young guys that got experience this year, and that experience will help us not have many holes next year, if any."