Ferris remains perfect with win

Hillary Boyden had done her part, going first up for Ferris and scoring in a Wednesday afternoon soccer shootout against fellow Greater Spokane League unbeaten Gonzaga Prep.

Now all she could do was watch and agonize as her little sister, goalkeeper Liz, faced the Bullpups shooters one-on-one.

The Saxons freshman was up to the task, blocking two attempts while Bullpups shooters were off-line two other times, and Ferris won 3-2 in the sudden-death ending that followed 90 minutes of scoreless competition between two league heavyweights.

“When she saved the first ball,” said Hillary, “it might sound stupid, but I cried. I’m still shaking.”

Although the Saxons (4-0) had an 18-9 shot advantage over the visitors, the match belonged to the keepers and defenders. Bullpups sophomore Elise Kuhar-Pitters turned back nine shots and also had two overtime saves, while Liz Boyden made a game-saving play two minutes into the second overtime that forced the shootout.

Sarah Dean of the Bullpups rifled a point-blank kick on goal, above Boyden’s head. Boyden got her hands on it enough to slow the ball, then fell backwards at the mouth, stopping the ball from rolling across behind her.

Winning coach Robin Crain offered his assessment of the two goalies efforts.

“Liz made a great save,” he allowed. “But both goalkeepers played really well. How many times do you see four penalty saves in a shootout?”

Crain also praised midfielder Brittany Dillon, whom he said, “just owned the middle. She was all over the place and defensively shut their good players down.”

Ferris was without playmaker Tori Crain, who injured her foot last week. It’s a day-to-day question, said her father and coach, regarding when she’ll return.

But that didn’t prevent the Saxons from controlling the tempo of the match, particularly in the first half when the ball usually seemed to be in G-Prep’s end of the field. Still, neither team had a true scoring threat in this defensive standoff.

The pace picked up a bit for the Bullpups (3-1) in the second half. Dean twice had goals called back for offside. She struck another shot off the crossbar at the 55-minute mark and had an attempt blocked with time running out.

Likewise, Ferris had some opportunities, the best coming with 10 minutes left in regulation. Kirsten Bafus worked into position, but was unable to shake four Bullpups defenders.

So it came to the shootout. Hillary Boyden scored right off, and her sister saved Prep’s first shot. With the shootout tied at 2, both keepers made their second saves to force a sixth attempt. Alex Allred of Ferris slid one into the left side of the net, but G-Prep freshman Marisa Poorboy, despite a reprieve on a miss when her first attempt was whistled dead, hit the left upright.

Unlike Hillary Boyden’s tears, the distraught Poorboy broke down in tears of regret. But she quickly found solace in the hugs of teammates at the end of a well-fought match by both teams.

Elsewhere, University and Mt. Spokane both improved to 4-0 and moved past the Bullpups and Saxons on points with wins in regulation. U-Hi notched a 4-1 win over visiting West Valley (0-4), with Tonya Schnibbe scoring her 11th and 12th goals. … Mt. Spokane posted a 5-0 win at Clarkston (0-4), with five different players netting goals. … North Central’s Courtney Ramsay scored near the end of the first half as the Indians (2-2) scored a 1-0 win at Cheney (1-3). … Mead (2-2) recorded a 2-0 win at East Valley (1-3) on first-half goals by Jill McAndrews and strong goalkeeping by Jenny Novotney. … Lewis and Clark (2-2) registered a 6-1 victory over visiting Shadle Park (2-2) at Hart Field. Maya Kohls-Chase and Lindsey Vercruyssen each had two goals…Central Valley (3-1) rolled to a 7-0 victory over visiting Rogers (0-4), which has yet to score in league.

Cross country

At Clarkston, upset bids by North Central and Lewis and Clark’s boys fell short against Ferris on a day when there was little margin for error. Ferris (6-0), lone unbeaten in league, staved off NC 28-29, the 1-2 finish of Ben Poffenroth and Brendan Chestnut just holding up. Chestnut nipped NC’s Luke Graesser by one second for the margin of difference in the meet. Ferris edged LC 25-30, while NC (3-1) edged LC (4-2). Clarkston dropped to 1-5. … East Valley (3-2) swept host Central Valley (3-2) and University (1-4) by identical 26-29 scores. U-Hi edged the Bears 27-28. EV’s Nick Atwood established a record 16:32 on the new Mirabeau Park course. … .Mead (5-1) swept Shadle Park (4-2), Gonzaga Prep (3-3) and Cheney (0-4) at Cheney’s Salnave Park. Mead packed its seven runners between fourth and 10th places. G-Prep’s. Michael Skansgaard timed 16:03 to beat Shadle’s Mark Moeller and Peter Miller. … Mt. Spokane (3-2) had five of the top six placers, to win easily over West Valley (1-4) and Rogers (0-5). Mike Hartanov’s 16:32 was a record on the new Rogers course.

•In girls competition, Megan O’Reilly also set the standard at Rogers (18:27) by holding off Becca Noble (18:41). Mt. Spokane (5-0) posted wins over Rogers (2-3) and WV (0-5). … LC (6-0) has a half-meet lead following its 27-29 win over NC (2-2), a 24-28 win over Ferris (3-3) and a victory over Clarkston (0-6). NC had the top two finishers in Stephanie Whittaker and Mary Graesser, but not quite enough depth. … Mead (5-1) used its depth to beat Shadle Park (4-2), Gonzaga Prep (3-3) and Cheney (0-4). Cami Nelson of the Highlanders won in 19:36 at Cheney. U-Hi (2-3) swept CV (3-2) and EV (2-3), placing four runners among the top five and six in the top 10. EV’s Jo E. Mayer won by nearly 90 seconds in 19:50.