Zalud atones as Wildcats qualify for first state soccer tournament

Mt. Spokane’s Chris Zalud placed teammate and All-Greater Spokane League goalkeeper Jeff Srock squarely in the middle of the frying pan during Tuesday’s District 8 4A winner-to-state, loser-out soccer match against Mead.

Zalud, whose foul led to a game-tying penalty kick by Mead at the end of regulation, doused the fire by scoring off a rebound in the fourth minute of overtime, sending the senior-dominated team to its first state soccer tournament with a 3-2 victory at Mt. Spokane.

Mt. Spokane will open state against Big Nine Conference No. 1 Pasco in Edgar Brown Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Srock had twice gone against senior defender Austin Hatcher on penalty kicks, earning a push.

But Hatcher’s second penalty kick on the final play of regulation, following the foul in the box by Zalud, trickled off the diving Srock’s hands and sent the match into overtime.

“It was a horrible way to end the game,” said Srock. “I knew he was going to try and overpower me. I had a hand on it, but didn’t push it far enough.”

Zalud’s make-good goal was the culmination of a series of passes that started with a long boot from Mead’s end by Eric Bofenkamp. The ball went to freshman Nick Reilly, who passed it to Keith Kirsch, who turn in found Zalud.

It took two tries, the second bouncing off of a Mead player into the goal.

“I just sprinted down there and he saved the first shot,” said Zalud. “I figured I’d rip a second in there and it went off his foot.”

It was a sudden ending to a match that had taken several dramatic turns.

Zalud’s pretty cross was headed into the goal from the opposite side of the field by Reilly about 6 minutes into the contest.

At the 25-minute mark, Hatcher lined up opposite Srock for the first time, but his attempt to the right post was smothered by the Wildcats keeper.

Back came Mt. Spokane after intercepting the ensuing corner kick and hurrying it upfield. Kirsch found forward Jeremy Sink for an open look and a 2-0 lead 27 minutes into the contest.

For the remainder of the half, the Wildcats kept the heat on. The first 10 minutes of the second half was played in their end of the field. But they increased the attack over the next 15.

Then Mead struck quickly, scoring off a shot after the ball rolled away from Srock’s save.

“That one was my fault,” said Srock. “It hit a ditch in the ground, I was ready for it, but it rolled right over me.”

Hatcher tied the match as time expired, but Mt. Spokane (15-3) which had suffered three tough losses, including in the district title match last Friday against Central Valley, would not give in.

“One of the things we drill into the boys is you can’t do anything about the referee, the field or the weather,” said first-year coach John Marshall. “This time our philosophy was tried. Usually when a team scores that last goal it has momentum going, but our boys got right back into the game.”

Mt. Spokane was playing without Adam Van Noy, who broke his ankle early in the CV match and is important to the team’s transition game.

“We had one day of practice, really, to change some things,” said Marshall.

Van Noy is one of 14 seniors who matured with the program.

“They’ve been so close before and the loss we had against CV was very hard on them,” said Marshall. “I’m so happy they get this opportunity to go to state for the first time. Jeremy Ochs built this program and we’re sort of seeing it come to fruition.”

Regional 3A

A scoreless match ended in a shootout loss by Cheney as Hanford qualified for state. But the Blackhawks get another chance in the tournament. The Blackhawks (12-6-1) will host West Valley-Yakima on Saturday for the region’s second state berth. WV-Yakima eliminated East Valley (12-5) in a 2-1 match. It took five penalty kick goals to determine Cheney’s contest. Cheney’s final attempt barely missed. The Blackhawks had a goal called back for offsides at 37 minutes. … Mark Schubert scored twice in the first half during WV-Yakima’s victory over EV. Cole Abramson, on a pass from Ben Funkhouser, scored at 63 minutes for EV. … The Cheney-WV winner will open the 16-team, 3A tourney against Hanford next week.