6 GSL schools have regional assignments
When it comes to the regional soccer playoffs, there’s no room for overconfidence.
For the Mt. Spokane boys, there’s no margin for error in today’s 3A loser-out game against a Kamiakin team that’s only 5-12 and hitting the road to face Ryan Campanells’s Greater Spokane League champions.
“Upsets can happen, but the whole season we’ve been leaning on our senior leadership,” said Campanella, noting that the 11-2 Wildcats “didn’t feel like they were overconfident” in a one-sided, 3-0 win over Shadle Park in last week’s district title game.
“Everybody knows what’s at stake,” Campanella said of the 5:30 p.m. matchup at Spokane Falls Community College.
So do the Central Valley Bears, the 4A District champs who also have the luxury of knowing that their season won’t end even with a loss in tonight’s regional title game against visiting Pasco.
“We feel the district title was worth more than winning the GSL,” said coach Andres Monrroy, whose Bears edged Ferris 1-0 in last week’s 4A title game.
Here’s a look at this week’s postseason action:
4A: Today at 6 p.m., Central Valley (12-2) takes on a Pasco team (12-5) that finished second in the Mid-Columbia Conference and plays the same up-tempo style of Wenatchee and Eastmont – teams that Monrroy scheduled in the preseason with this matchup in mind.
The Bears are well-rested and in the right frame of mind after a week off – “we handled it really well and we’ve set high expectations for ourselves,” Monrroy said.
The winner will advance directly to next week’s state playoffs, while the loser will play Saturday against the winner of tonight’s other 4A match, Chiawana (10-7) at Ferris (13-2).
Ferris, the GSL runner-up and top seed at the 4A District tournament, rebounded from a district loss to CV with a gut-check, 1-0 win over Lewis and Clark. Now the Saxons have a chance to match or beat last year’s quarterfinal run.
“The kids were very disappointed after the loss to CV, but I think they responded really well,” Ferris coach Robin Crain said.
“They’re looking forward to this one,” Crain said.
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at Ferris.
3A: Four GSL teams are in action today, all in loser-out matches. In the 7:30 nightcap at SFCC, Shadle Park (6-8) faces Kennewick. Two other local teams are on the road, with North Central (3-9) at Hanford and University (4-10) at Sunnyside. Those matches begin at 5 p.m.
The teams will be re-seeded for Thursday’s second round, which reverts to double- elimination; the top survivor – currently Sunnyside is the No. 1 seed and Mt. Spokane is No. 2 – will face No 4, while No. 2 will host No. 3.
2A: The Great Northern League continues its district tournament today, with top-seeded Cheney (13-1) hosting East Valley (6-8) and No. 2 Pullman (13-3) hosting West Valley.
Both matches are loser-out, but the winners will advance to subregional play after Saturday’s district title game.