Bullpups secure second consecutive district title

Gonzaga Prep took care of the offensive part of its soccer match early, then did what it does best: It let the defense take over.

The result was the Bullpups’ second consecutive District 8 4A championship, a 2-0 victory Friday over visiting Mt. Spokane, and the top seed in next Saturday’s State 4A tournament.

Mt. Spokane, the Greater Spokane League’s highest-scoring team, managed just one true shot on goal despite having the ball in Prep’s end of the field for much of the second half.

The Bullpups (14-1-1) either clogged the goal mouth with four defenders, who also often had help, or booted long balls down field to use up precious time.

“Defense has been our cornerstone this year,” said G-Prep coach Christian Birrer. “Last year we were a very offensively oriented team. This year we’re a very defensive team. Last year Alex Butler was an attacking player, this year she’s a defensive player. So we have a defensive mentality and just grind out wins.”

It was Hammer time early for Prep’s offensive grinders, who controlled the first half of the match. At the 14-minute mark, freshman Stacey Hammer corralled a loose ball, dribbled unchecked from the left side, took it right at Mt. Spokane’s goal keeper and blasted her shot into the upper-right corner of the net.

Eight minutes later, junior Sarah Dean, who has been on a scoring tear of late, took a pass from another freshman, Sophie Johnson, made a nice cut-back move on her defender to break free, and boomed Prep’s second goal into the right side of the goal.

“I think it was a fluke because usually I choke on those,” Dean said. “I just was calm about it and not very frantic. That’s what helped me.”

It was all the scoring Prep’s defense would need. No matter what Mt. Spokane would throw at the Bullpups, even adding a third forward and bringing a defender up to midfield for more firepower, it seemed as if the Wildcats were always outnumbered at the net.

Seniors Jessica Miller and Jenny Tracy, plus the Cronin sisters, Molly and Tara, had a big hand in the effort, made easier by the early two-goal cushion.

Mt. Spokane couldn’t get a head on a corner kick at the 50-minute mark. Four other corner kicks, three in succession, failed, two of them cleared by Prep midfielder Catlin Davis and Dean.

Two other attempts in the match’s final 11 minutes were stopped by keeper Elise Kuhar-Pitters, one by flying over the pack to snag a kick, the other when she went out from goal, won a challenge, then got back to earn a stop.

“We try to stay central more and pack it in,” Miller said. “The defenders from the side don’t make as many runs. Our midfielders usually pull in a little more and support us and I try to play a little deeper and keep that shutout.”

Said Mt. Spokane coach John Marshall, “They’re a very good defensive team. We were trying and just could not convert. A couple of attempts in front of the goal just did not go in for us.”

Despite the loss, the Wildcats (12-3), who were playing in their first district final, have another chance to qualify for state.

On Tuesday they host University (13-4) at 3 p.m. for the league’s second berth.

The Titans defeated Ferris 2-1 at home for the second time in a week, eliminating the Saxons and keeping alive their chances for a return state trip.

Abby Goss of the Titans scored first at the 17-minute mark off a pass by league assists leader Alex Marquard, but Hillary Boyden countered 10 minutes later.

Rachel Lopez broke the 1-all tie with 8 minutes remaining in the match on an assist from league scoring leader Tonya Schnibbe to earn a date with a Wildcats team having its best year in history.

“The girls have really played hard this year,” Marshall said. “I’m a first-year coach and we have 10 seniors. They’ve made my coaching job in some ways easy. Now we’ll go ahead and take care of what we need to take care of in next game.”

Besides Mead, said Birrer, G-Prep is the only other team to win back-to-back league titles, let alone district championships. Although he knew the Bullpups would be good, he wasn’t sure they could win league again.

“There were so many good teams in league,” he said. “U-Hi was loaded, Mead had some wily freshman on its team, Ferris had so many weapons and Mt. Spokane is just an all-star offensive team. I’m just thrilled we came out on top of that and we owe a lot of that to some very tenacious defenders.”

Of G-Prep’s 16 matches this year, 14 have been shutouts, including one tie and a shootout loss. They have allowed just three goals all season and they’ve been unbeatable playing at home. The Bullpups’ last loss to a fellow GSL team at home came four seasons ago. And they have not been scored upon this year on their home turf.

“Last year was amazing,” Miller said of the first of Prep’s district titles. “But to have 14 shutouts is unheard of. Just to be a senior and going out like this in my final year of soccer, there’s nothing better.”