East Valley wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the CWAC district tournament on Tuesday with a 2-1 road win over Ellensburg.

Sophomore forward Natalie Mendoza delivered a goal and an assist for the Red Devils, who have won seven in a row overall after suffering their only loss of the season to Selah on Sept. 30. Senior midfielder Ariana Lopez also found the net in the first half, helping East Valley overcome a 1-0 deficit and improve to 7-1 in CWAC play (14-1-1 overall).

“I’m really proud of our girls,” East Valley head coach Tim Ostrander said. “After we gave up that first goal, we responded right away. Then we made some adjustments at halftime and were able to finish strong.”

Ellensburg created a flurry of first-half chances as senior forward Molly Moffatt and freshman Brea Potucek broke down the Red Devils defense with their speed and steady ball control. Potucek opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, capitalizing on a loose ball in the box following the Bulldogs’ only corner kick of the game.

But just two minutes later, Lopez drew the Red Devils even, taking a long pass from Mendoza and finding a seam in the box before poking it past Bulldogs goalkeeper Katie Burton for her 34th goal of the season.

Ellensburg came out fast in the second half, nearly retaking the lead on a shot from Potucek that struck the crossbar. Then, in the 47th minute, Mendoza took the ball at midfield and dribbled through a host of Bulldog defenders to score what ended up being the game-winner.

“I thought we did a good job of regrouping at halftime after kind of a slow start,” Ostrander said. “I like to see that resilience as we get ready for the playoffs.”

East Valley will host No. 4 seed Ephrata on Saturday at noon in the first round of the district tournament, with the winner advancing to the CWAC semifinals on Tuesday. Ellensburg (4-4 CWAC, 7-7 overall) will host No. 8 seed Toppenish in a loser-out game, also at noon.