The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PRESCOTT - Ricardo Flores scored two goals in the first four minutes of the WP Tigers' soccer game against Dayton here on October 23. He went on to score two more second-half goals, as the 10-3 Tigers, ranked fifth in the state by website "Washington Soccer Central," cruised to a 8-0 victory.

Tiger scores also came from Manny Sanchez, who made it 3-0 at the half. Other second half goals came from Christian Caro and Ivan Figueroa.

The Tigers started their season with eight straight wins in September, including six at home. At that point, WP was ranked number one in the state by WSC.

Above left: WP sophomore forward Ivan Figueroa prepares to deflect a header into the net. This photo was taken an instant before the one on Page 1. Above Right: Dayton's Zach Waggoner tries to keep the ball from WP's Manny Sanchez.

After beating Mac Hi 3-0 at home on September 30 for the eighth Tiger win, the Pioneers returned the favor, beating WP 3-1 in Milton Freewater. The Tigers lost two of their next four games - 2-1 against Northwest Christian in Spokane on October 11 and in a shootout loss to St. George's in Spokane. That game ended in a scoreless tie after regulation. St. Georges prevailed in the shootout match, 6-5.

The Tigers are near the end of a very tough 2014 schedule. St. George's is currently ranked number one in the state, and Northwest Christian is ranked fourth. The Tigers beat tenth-ranked Trout Lake 4-0 on October 17.

WP was set to host Riverside Christian on Tuesday, and finish the regular season on the road against Moses Lake Christian.

The Tigers are led by four players who made 2013 WSC All-State Rosters. Ernesto Valdovinos was 1st Team, Figueroa, a sophomore, and junior Luis Garcia were 2nd Team, and senior Jose Paniagua and sophomore goalkeeper Christian Caro were 3rd Team. Figueroa was named WSC freshman of the year last year.

The Tigers begin playoff action in November.