Central Valley rolls past Mt. Spokane in GSL boys soccer
It was a picture-perfect day, but Central Valley soccer coach Andres Monrroy found something else to appreciate Wednesday afternoon.
Lockdown defense, a dominant midfield and pinpoint passing were their own reward in a 5-1 Greater Spokane League soccer win at Mt. Spokane.
“It’s beautiful to watch, and sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy it,” said Monrroy, whose Bears played a near-perfect game to keep their record unblemished.
“They’re just connecting and they’re doing an amazing job,” said Monrroy, whose team improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the GSL.
The Bears are alone in first place, a game ahead of Ferris, Gonzaga Prep and Lewis and Clark.
The score could have been more lopsided, as the Bears outshot Mt. Spokane 19-3 but missed several scoring chances in the opening minutes.
By then, Mt. Spokane (2-4, 1-3) had taken a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute on a well-struck 20-yard shot from Jake Morse that curled past CV goalkeeper Andrew Enzler and just inside the right post.
That lead stood for 14 minutes, but J.D. Hauenstein found Noah Whitman with a nice through pass that led to an easy tap-in for the equalizer. Eight minutes later, Whitman returned the favor with a header that Hauenstein touched home to give the Bears the lead for good.
“I just wanted to go in with some confidence after we fell behind, and J.D. made a nice pass,” said Whitman, a sophomore midfielder.
At the other end of the field, Enzler was forced to make just two saves as CV utterly dominated possession.
“It’s just crazy,” said Enzler, a senior. “With our defense, you go into the game with so much confidence.”
The Bears pulled away in the second half, getting three assists from junior midfielder Evan Kern.
The first was a pass from the right side that Hauenstein tapped in for a 3-1 lead just 5 minutes after halftime.
The second went into the goalmouth for another goal for Whitman, and the finale set up defender Braden Corigliano in the 64th minute.
Mt. Spokane keeper Evan Kamerer made 14 saves, including several near-misses for the Bears.
“We dominated possession in the first half, but had a hard time finishing,” Monrroy said. “After that we did the things we needed to do.”