Mead’S Folsom Shows Up Titans

Prep soccer

When Matt Folsom has been around to play for the Mead boys soccer team this spring, he has always made an impact on the game.

It was no different Wednesday.

The senior midfielder scored two goals as the Greater Spokane League’s second-place Panthers defeated No. 5 University 3-1 in a firstround District 8 4A match on a cold and windy day at Mead High School.

Folsom has only played in 10 of Mead’s 15 games because of vacations and not having enough practices in.

“When we have not had him, we have missed him,” said Panthers coach Travis Hanson, whose team will host No. 3 Central Valley (10-5-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday for a berth to regionals. CV eliminated No. 4 Lewis and Clark 1-0 in overtime.

There was no way Folsom was going to be absent Wednesday. Since the beginning of the season the playoffs have been on his mind. Mead (12-3) didn’t make it to the postseason in 1999.

So when the Titans (9-7) took a quick 1-0 lead on Tyler Falco’s goal at 2 minutes, Folsom wasn’t worried.

“Even if they had scored another goal, I was confident we could win,” Folsom said. “We just kept pounding them the whole time and knew eventually they would break down and we would score some goals.”

Mead attacked against the wind in the first half but was able to tie the game at 1 on Folsom’s first goal at 31 minutes. The Panthers dominated the second half, holding U-Hi without a shot and not allowing the Titans to keep possession. U-Hi had been able to make sharp passes through the midfield early in the match.

“We weren’t marking and they were making good runs through,” said U-Hi senior Brian Velategui, who has become known around the league for his long flip throw-ins. “They tore our defense up. They had fresh legs in there and we were getting tired. We gave up in the middle.”

Junior Paul Mauk scored the game-winner for Mead at 62 minutes off a Colin Beaudoin header. Folsom took a pass from Bryan Bourland 4 minutes later and scored his second goal, his sixth of the season.

Mead had lost to U-Hi in a shootout in the preseason, then defeated the Titans in a shootout during league.

At CV, Mike Balcom fed Nikko Gibson for a goal 3 minutes into overtime, and the Bears knocked out the Tigers (7-8-1). CV’s Travis Johnson made two big saves in the first half, including a one-on-one.

Mike and Brian Heim scored first-half goals and Rashad Kazimee registered the shutout, as Pullman (14-2, 8-2) defeated visiting Medical Lake 3-0 in the final Great Northern League match of the season. ML is 6-9-1, 4-6. The same teams open district play at noon on Saturday at Riverside. No. 4 Deer Park plays No. 1 Riverside at 2 p.m. in Saturday’s other loser-out opener.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Softball showdown

First place is at stake Friday when Shadle Park entertains University in their Greater Spokane League softball rematch.

U-Hi won the controversial first meeting 2-1 despite managing just a single hit.

The top two league finishers earn automatic regional berths. Third-place Lewis and Clark has clinched a district playoff spot. The final three games will determine which of four other teams earn the final three berths in the tourney, which begins May 11.

Several of the contenders meet head-to-head. And the season-ender between Mt. Spokane and seventh-place Ferris Monday at Franklin Park looms large for both.