TONASKET – An old adage states that familiarity breeds contempt.

In the case of the Tonasket soccer team, having the same referees officiate just about every game is at least building a growing sense of frustration. And while it didn’t quite boil over during the Tigers’ 4-1 home loss to Omak on Saturday, April 14, it certainly bubbled close to the surface.

“At times we feel like we’re not even able to compete,” said Tonasket coach Jack Goyette, after reminding his team that Omak’s play earned the Pioneers the win much more than any officiating decisions. “Having the same officials every single game, home or away, is tough. Plus we can’t even seem to get a full crew (of three; Saturday’s game was officiated by one center ref and one sideline judge). It seems to me that is something the league needs to take responsibility for.”

The Pioneers took a 3-0 lead after Julian Cervantes scored three unassisted goals in the first half — two off of direct kicks, including one that Cervantes booted in before the Tigers were lined up to defend.

That in particular didn’t go over well with the Tigers.

“The problems I had today weren’t with judgement calls,” Goyette said. “The game management issues like that should not happen.

“The Omak guys played hard, though. I liked the way they played. I thought we played our best game of the week, but they were a little better today.”

Jon Pantaleon scored for the Tigers early in the second half, redirecting Michael Orozco’s deflection of a direct kick to cut the Omak lead to 3-1, but Diego Kreisler answered for the Pioneers (4-4, 2-2 Caribou Trail League) to account for the final margin.

“The kids are working hard,” Goyette said. “They have great attitudes. They’re great kids, and I just love these guys.”

The Tigers (4-5-1, 0-4 CTL) host Cashmere on Saturday and are at Omak on Tuesday, April 24.

Bridgeport 3, Tonasket 0

BRIDGEPORT – A mix-up on the game’s start time did the Tigers no favors as they dropped a 3-0 decision at Bridgeport on Thursday.

“We got there and found out the game was supposed to start at 4:00, not 4:30,” Goyette said. “We started without warming up, which I thought was toughest on Laz Ortega (in goal).

“We played OK, especially once we got into the game. They had a couple of lucky goals. The game was extremely well-officiated, as well.”

Okanogan 4, Tonasket 1

OKANOGAN – Okanogan took advantage of an uninspired performance from the Tigers to roll to a 4-1 CTL victory on Tuesday, April 10.

“We didn’t play well,” Goyette said. “The whole game, we were slow on both sides. They did a good job of revealing and exploiting our weaknesses and scored some very nice goals.”

Michael Orozco scored on a penalty kick for the Tigers.