GSL boys soccer: Ferris edges Gonzaga Prep despite missing players

The Ferris soccer players have a message for their absent teammates, the ones who thought a band trip to Disney World was preferable to a late-March afternoon on the South Hill.

“They’re missing out,” one player yelled after the host Saxons outlasted Gonzaga Prep 1-0 in a Greater Spokane League match Wednesday afternoon.

The weather wasn’t bad, either. It was 62 degrees at kickoff as a crowd of about 150 watched Ferris overcome the absence of several key players to knock G-Prep out of a first-place tie in the GSL.

Besides all-GSL midfielder Eric Hollenbaugh, the Saxons were without regular goalkeeper James Mann. His replacement, sophomore Henry Jones, made 13 saves, including some that required every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame.

“The height, that helps a bit,” said Jones after his first start in a league match. “Our defense played great and we held together and pulled through.”

The Saxons (4-2, 2-1 GSL) dominated the first half and were rewarded in the 25th minute when senior midfielder Curt McCune took a short pass from the right wing, dribbled across the top of the box and fired a left-footed shot that found the upper left corner of the net.

“That felt so nice – it curved right in,” McCune said.

Even better, Jones and his defenders – Max Thompson, Evan Giem, Jacob Demille and Braden Brock – made McCune’s goal stand up for the next 55 minutes.

One minute into the second half, Ferris almost doubled the lead, but Callan Martin’s screamer was tipped away and off the left post for one of Kalil Taylor’s six saves.

G-Prep (5-2, 2-1) came into the match on the heels of wins over North Central (7-1) and University (3-1), forced the action in the second half.

In the 47th minute, G-Prep’s Parker Gorrill was denied by Jones on a 5-yarder after a lofting pass from midfield. Twice in the next 10 minutes, the Bullpups’ Braiden Coston narrowly missed equalizing chances.

Late in the game, Dillon Vandiver had two chances to tie it – the first on a rocket that was wide left in the 71st minute, and 20-yarder that just missed the right post in the final minute.

With Ferris going into an April 13 match against GSL co-leader Lewis and Clark, “This win means everything,” McCune said. “This will help us build momentum going into the rest of the season.”