U-Hi grabs seed
Bill McElroy has been a bright spot for the University boys soccer team all season long. In Wednesday night’s victory over the Mead Panthers, McElroy got to be the hero.
The senior midfielder scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick from Michael Ramos and U-Hi (9-4, 8-2) held the Panthers (9-3, 6-3) scoreless in the second half to finish off a 2-1 Greater Spokane League victory at U-Hi.
“That was an adrenaline rush,” McElroy said. “We were up with 10 minutes to go in the first half and I knew that after that we had to hold on and put the game away. That was a dream – to score the winning goal in my last game here, it was amazing.”
With the win, the Titans secured the top seed into the 4A district tournament, which begins next week. U-Hi has a bye on Friday and had left Mead and Lewis and Clark to battle for the second and third seeds.
The Panthers scored first when Jason Hamer got the ball from Michael Shriver and buried it into the lower left corner in the 17th minute.
U-Hi’s Evan Frobe responded at the 30-minute mark, tying the game at 1 when he scored off a 40-yard free kick from Bryce Burchak.
“That was an incredible goal,” U-Hi coach Kevin Houston said. “Those are the things we work on in practice. It was probably a little luck, but there was a lot of skill involved. To play in front of our home crowd and earn (the No. 1 seed) is an amazing experience.”
Goalkeeper Ryan Dixon was almost perfect for U-Hi, finishing with eight saves as the Titans were outshot 11-6.
“(Ryan’s) growth from last year to this year has been amazing to watch,” Houston said. “His level of play ranks him up there with the best goalkeepers in the GSL. He has provided miracle saves and put us in the spot we are in now.”
Dixon provided solid saves on the night where it mattered most. He stopped three shots, including a close free kick shot from Mead’s Chris Windham, in the final four minutes of the game.
“They scored on the chances they had,” Mead coach Matt Stueckle said. “We didn’t finish our chances to score and they did – that was the difference.”
Elsewhere in the GSL, Michael Mastor scored his first career goal and Marc Mauersberger assisted on three goals as the host Lewis and Clark Tigers (9-4, 7-2) downed Rogers 5-2 at Hart Field. LC outshot the Pirates (2-9, 1-8) 18-6. … Trevor Crain scored a game-tying goal in the first half and Taylor Proctor scored the go-ahead goal as Ferris (10-5, 6-3) defeated host Gonzaga Prep (6-6, 4-5) 3-1. Sam Palmer had one goal and one assist for Ferris. … Kevin Cameron finished with two goals and one assist as Central Valley (7-5, 5-4) rolled past visiting Shadle Park (4-8, 3-6) 5-1. Cody Franks and Stephen Grinalds finished with four shots on goal and one score apiece for CV. … Nick Reilly finished with a hat trick as Mt. Spokane (2-11, 2-7) blanked visiting North Central (3-12, 0-9) 3-0. John Carter had four saves to record to the shutout for the Wildcats.
“In Great Northern League action, Ben Groce scored for visiting Medical Lake and Austin Durfee had a goal for Clarkston in regulation, but ML captured a 2-1 victory in a shootout.
Prep softball
Maggie Capwell hit 2 for 5 with a double, home run and three RBIs to lead North Central (13-2) to a 16-6 win over host Rogers (5-11) in Greater Spokane League action.
Prep golf
Pullman swept the team races in a Great Northern League match at the Fairways at West Terrace in Cheney. Cheney’s Aaron Byrd recorded the boys medalist score with a 4-over-par 76. Stephanie Martinez of Pullman and Kaylin Carlson shared the girls medalist score at 86.