Fearless Foursome Ferris Soccer Team’s Success Due In Large Part To A Quartet Of Key Players Who Forge A Determined Defense

It’s impossible to reduce the Ferris soccer team’s defense to a list of statistics.

After all, said Coach Robin Crain, how do you keep track of the crossing passes that stopper Karie Pruett cleared with her head, just when it looked like the other team had a certain tally?

Or how can you count the many times Vicki Froelich and Mollie Gardner, both marking backs, stood up to dangerous strikers and held them scoreless?

Tougher still would be to count how often sweeper Angela Faridnia, the defensive quarterback, cajoled her mates to get back in the trenches or push forward on the attack.

But the absence of cold, hard defensive statistics doesn’t lessen the impact these four players had as the Saxons won the first district soccer championship in Ferris history by upsetting unbeaten league power Mead.

“I don’t really think the defense gets all the praise and acclaim the forwards and goal scorers do,” Crain said.

“The one benefit to playing defense is that nine times out of 10 you’re going to be successful at stopping the other team.”

The success of the Saxon defense, Crain said, was perhaps best illustrated by one of the few statistics he does have on the four. When Pruett, Gardner, Faridnia, and Froelich played, Ferris gave up just 1.2 goals per game this year - second in the Greater Spokane League only to Mead.

“When you only allow just one goal a game, you’re going to win most of the time,” Crain said.

Despite the 3-2 loss last Saturday to Richland that knocked Ferris out of the playoffs, Crain finds hope in the future. Pruett and Froelich, both juniors, and Faridnia and Gardner, both sophomores, all return next year.

In fact, 10 of the starting 11 players this year were underclassmen.

Ferris’ second-place finish in the regular season this year wasn’t a surprise. The Saxons made it to the playoffs a year ago.

Still, it’s interesting to note that as smoothly as Gardner, Faridnia, Froelich and Pruett have worked together on the field, they all have distinctly different personalities. Outside of the Saxon backfield, they rarely hang out socially.

Gardner says she’s a little gullible and winds up always getting picked on, good-naturedly, of course.

At 15, she’s one of the youngest starters.

Pruett nearly didn’t turn out for the team this year. She says soccer “hasn’t been all that fun in the last few years,” and the thought of all that running in practice wasn’t particularly appealing.

“I’m a little lazy,” she adds, giggling.

Froelich, a junior marking back, is the quiet type who just does whatever it takes, her teammates say.

Faridnia admits she definitely isn’t the quiet type.

She’s the boss of the backfield, shouting instructions at her teammates to get in position.

“I have to be thinking where my players are and where the other team’s players are at all times,” Faridnia says. “The key to defense is you can’t lose composure. Once you lose your composure, you’re toast.”

Last week’s win over Mead provided a prime example of the four defenders’ teamwork on the field.

Pruett assisted the indirect free kick that Faridnia booted into the net to put away the Panthers.

The victory was sweetened by the knowledge that Ferris was the last GSL team to beat powerhouse Mead before that district adds a second high school next year.

Gardner and Froelich have combined all season long for what Coach Crain termed “the hardest duties on the team”: marking opposing forwards.

“Usually the best players on the other team are going to play forward,” said Crain, explaining that Froelich and Gardner have shone in one-on-one situations against older, more experienced players.

Froelich’s sliding tackle against a Mead striker in the final minutes of the district championship last Wednesday helped save the win.

And Gardner plays much bigger than her diminutive frame.

“Not only has she done a really good job marking and tackling, but she’s given us some support on offense because she has good skills and touch,” Crain said. “Mollie links the plays together, rather than just clearing the ball.”

They are intangibles of soccer: Linking plays together (Gardner); a sliding tackle to save the game (Froelich); heading the ball clear of the penalty area (Pruett); and directing traffic (Faridnia).

Those qualities may not show on the stat sheets, but when these four players return to the GSL next year, the rest of the rest of the league will be well aware of their presence.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo