Saxon Liz Boyden advances on soccer field

Three years ago, Liz Boyden’s varsity soccer career at Ferris High School began with a less than Hollywood-scripted story line.

“I was pretty nervous,” said Boyden. “It was pretty funny, but in that game, which I believe was against Mead, I made a mistake, and they quoted it in the paper that I had made a mistake.

“It kind of didn’t get me off to a good start, as a freshman goalkeeper who makes a mistake.”

Boyden has come a long way from the freshman who made the mistake, Now she is a senior who is a returning All Greater Spokane League selection.

But the experience Boyden gained her first year in goal went a long way toward shaping the player she is today.

“It helped a lot,” she said. “I got to experience a thing that normally only upperclassmen get to experience. It helped me mature more in the sports area in high school.”

In that first season, Boyden also had the opportunity to play alongside her sister, Hillary, before she went on to play at North Idaho College.

“Freshman year, I was so scared before tryouts. She (Hillary) would shoot on me and give me the lowdown on tryouts,” said Liz Boyden. “She was a big help.

“She got to experience the college level, and she would report to me how it was going. I look up to her. She’s been pretty much my soccer mentor her entire life.”

Now, Liz Boyden is expected to lead a young Ferris squad through an always-tough GSL.

“She has the most experience by far on our team,” said first-year Saxon head coach Ashley Jones. “We have five returning varsity players.

“She’s very mellow and approachable. She’s really welcoming to everybody and very relaxed as a person, and I think that’s helpful,” Jones said.

“If things aren’t going right, we have to keep a positive attitude and be like, ‘We’re going to get it this time,’ ” said Boyden.

“The goalkeeper is in charge out on the field, so sometimes it feels like I’m coaching out there.”

The Saxons have started slowly this season, but Boyden has kept Ferris in every contest.

“She is huge for us really,” said Jones. “We are a little bit young and inexperienced as a team. … There are going to be breakdowns in communication and all those things that a seasoned team that has played together kind of avoids.

“Having Liz back there is kind of like having a safety net, and she really keeps them together. We can weather some of those breakdowns because everyone is confident in her abilities,” the coach said.

Boyden, who also plays basketball in winter and does track in the spring, will take her talents to the University of Idaho next fall to play for the Vandals’ soccer team.

“It was one of the best schools in what I want to major in – forestry and wildlife,” Boyden said.

“I just went there and watched their game. It didn’t look like a restrictive you-have-to-do-this-one-way-

or-you-can’t-play way. It was more of a fun environment.

“The coach was really funny and connected with me right away,” Boyden said. “It just seemed like a really exciting, laid-back college.”

But for now, Boyden remains focused on the present, hoping to lead her Saxon teammates to a big finish in her final year of high school.

“I hope we get to the point where we don’t let any goals in at all, that we get clean sheets game after game,” she said. “I hope we get into the playoffs and move on if possible.”