Titans Balanced, Bears Building Depending On Who Steps Forward, Greater Spokane League Title Is Anybody’s To Win

GSL soccer

Gonzaga Prep finds itself atop everyone’s list of pre-season Greater Spokane League soccer picks, but University and Central Valley are poised to make runs for the playoffs.

The GSL will feature a mix of young and old, leaving the league title and the five playoff spots up for grabs when the season opens Monday.

“The combination of age and youthful talent makes the league a mixed bag,” Titans coach Damon Hagerott said.

And that certainly has to include the Valley schools.

University has 10 juniors and seniors who have played in the post season, accounting for the age in the Valley. And CV will rely heavily on the services of several of the 22 freshmen and sophomores who turned out.

UNIVERSITY

The Titans will not be flashy, but they will be solid, according to Hagerott.

“We have no big names anywhere, but we have a lot of balance throughout the roster,” the fourth-year coach said. “This reminds me a lot of the ‘92 team. We didn’t score a lot, but we didn’t give up a lot of goals either. We were just stable and consistent.”

That team lost 3-2 in a shootout to state Class AAA runner-up Richland in the first round of the state playoffs.

But if the Titans are going to be a contender in 1995, they must first get by Prep, which finished third in the state last year and returns all but two starters.

“Gonzaga Prep has everyone’s attention, but I think it’s realistic for us,” Hagerott said.

Finding someone to score consistently and a goalkeeper who will make a team earn its goals will go a long way toward determining just how good the Titans will be.

“We have guys who can score,” Hagerott said. “But can is one thing and will another. So who’s to say?”

Sophomore Josh Miller, who had six goals as a freshman, is one of those who can score.

The senior trio of Andy Gordon, Randy Aitken and Josh Thompson, and junior Ryan Massey should provide solid midfield play and fill the void left by the graduation of Mike Rineer, a second team all-league player last year, and first-teamer Morgan Johnson. Gordon suffered a major knee injury shortly after the season last year, but appears ready to go.

Another area of concern for Hagerott is goalkeeping. First team all-league selection Ehren Lawhead graduated last spring after three solid year in goal for the Titans.

“Who steps in will have a big bearing on the characteristics of what happens in the back,” Hagerott said.

Three players, ranging in age from sophomore to senior, are battling for the right to succeed Lawhead.

CENTRAL VALLEY

The Bears will combine eight returning lettermen with a solid group of underclassmen as they try to improve on last year’s 3-11-2 record in what head coach Howard Woollett calls “another building year.”

“I hate to use that cliche,” he said. “But I just don’t know how a freshman or sophomore is going to play come game day.”

A key factor in how far the Bears will go will be finding a replacement for first team all-league performer Chad Brown, who graduated after the 1994 season. Brown accounted for nine of CV’s 19 goals last year.

“We didn’t score many goals last year, so I don’t really have a returning leading scorer, or a big time scorer,” Woollett said.

The top two candidates to give the Bears a scoring boost are senior Jason Rider and junior Ryan Butner, both forwards.

Midfielders James Barlos, a junior, Joe Clarizio, a sophomore, and Jeff Measel, a senior, will have the responsibility of Rider and Butner of getting the ball in position to score.

Defensively, expect to be solid. Seniors Nathan Usher and Korey Kekahuna will team with sophomore Peter Martin to provide Woollett with a good core to build a defense around.

“Basically, after that, it’s wide open,” Woollett said.

Well, almost.

Woollett also expects contributions from sophomore Matt Meyer - both defensively and in the midfield - and senior Jason Sackmann on defense.

“We’ll be competitive,” Woollett said. “Competitive, that’s the right word. Our goal is to be like we were last year, in every match.”

One of those is the University match.

“We’re going to give ‘em all we’ve got,” Woollett said. “Obviously, (Damon Hagerott) got the cards, but we’ll play them tough. It’s a big game for the kids.”