EV rebounds, beats Wildcats

Soccer is a game of non-stop action often with little to show for it on the scoreboard – other than the aesthetics of a well-played contest.

Teams get goals when rare opportunities arise – and East Valley’s Ryan Orwick did just that. He corralled a ball that had ricocheted off the goal crossbar Wednesday to defeat Mt. Spokane 2-1 in Greater Spokane League boys action.

Midway through the second half of a 1-all match, Ben Funkhouser had smacked a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box that caromed off the goal and away from Wildcats keeper Jeff Srock.

Orwick flashed into the area and nudged the ball into an open area of net.

“Whenever Ben has a kick I try to stay out and just run in and hope it bounces my way,” said Orwick. “I saw it come off the post and tried to get something on it toward the goal and hoped something would happen.”

His “something” erased the memory of Monday’s upset loss to Mead, improved the Knights to 6-2 in league (7-2 overall) and set up Friday’s 7 p.m. showdown at unbeaten Central Valley.

The loss dropped Mt. Spokane (9-2, 6-2) into a share of second place with EV and Ferris, a 3-1 upset loser at Shadle Park.

The Knights and Wildcats had played evenly until Orwick’s goal. Each had their share of first-half shots, and EV sophomore keeper Josh Peck had four saves. Both scores in the half came on superb efforts.

The Wildcats struck first with 6 minutes remaining until intermission, as Chris Zalud launched a long kick from near midfield across the field and toward the goal. Keith Kirsch on the opposite side headed it in at his near post.

Just a minute later, Funkhouser sliced a hard, low shot from about 18 yards out by Srock and just inside the right side of the goal for the tie.

“I put it low into the corner and just slide it right next to the post,” said Funkhouser of his signature shot. “Jeff Srock’s pretty tall and it’s hard for him to get down low.”

After he set up Orwick with the game-winner following a foul with 19 minutes remaining, EV’s defense, keyed by sophomore sweeper Josh Polello, took over from there.

It was in contrast to Monday’s surprise loss to Mead, a match in which EV might have been overconfident, Orwick said. Coach Jeff Rose said the Knights had not played well in either of their previous two contests, but got things turned around for Mt. Spokane.

“We had to make sure our backs were getting forward and our forwards were getting back,” said Rose of the win. “What we try to do is get all 10 guys in the same half of the field, both defensively and offensively. Our outside midfielders are so fast we can do that. And Polello was a big part.”

Rose also lauded the play of Peck, who came up big against both Mead and Mt. Spokane.

In other GSL matches, leading scorer Andy Largent turned playmaker for Shadle (7-3, 5-3) with assists on all three goals against Ferris (8-3, 6-2). His first was to Dallas McIntyre on a scramble in the box. His second was a cross that Ben Mjelbe rebounded in, and the third was on a through pass to Alex Mason. … Cheney (7-3-1, 5-3) broke open its match with two second-half goals to beat visiting Gonzaga Prep (4-5, 3-5) 3-0. Mitch Weller and Jeff Davis each scored and each also had an assist. … Lewis and Clark (3-7, 3-5) won its third match in four outings, 2-0 against visiting Rogers (4-7, 2-6) at Hart Field. Matt Harniteaux fed Stefan Andersson for a left-footed shot from 18 yards out a minute into the second half. Andersson scored again 14 minutes later. … Neil Bachman scored a first-half hat trick as West Valley (4-6, 2-6) beat North Central (2-8, 1-7) 4-1 at home. Bachman has 10 goals for the year. … Seven different players scored as Central Valley (9-1-1, 8-0) maintained its league lead with a 7-0 win at home over Clarkston (0-9, 0-8). The score was just 1-0 at half before the Bears turned it on. Brady Coyle scored his first goal of the year with a direct kick from 40 yards out and Blake Trimmer scored twice. … University (6-4, 5-3) got its offense untracked late at home, beating Mead (4-6, 4-4), 4-1. The Titans are tied for fifth. After a scoreless three quarters of the game, Keith Realing scored twice and assisted two others during a 17-minute span. His first goal was a throw-in from 25 yards out that went through four defenders. The second came on a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box. Both his assists were on long passes through to U-Hi attackers.

Softball

Felicia Kinder stole third base and scored on an overthrow with no out in the seventh, giving North Central (4-5, 4-5) a 3-2 win over visiting Clarkston (4-6, 3-6) in Greater Spokane League play. Kinder led off the seventh with a single and took second on a sacrifice. Winner Kelsey Vallies pitched a four-hitter and struck out eight.