U-Hi changes luck

For the first four years of his playoff career as the University boys soccer coach, Kevin Houston’s Titans lost in the first round of districts.

“One and out,” Houston said with a laugh. “That’s how it’s been for us – one and out – so this is a special moment for me and the guys.”

U-Hi scored two second-half goals and the Titans went on to beat Lewis and Clark 2-1 in the District 8 4A boys soccer championship Friday night at Joe Albi Stadium.

The Titans have a top seed into the regional tournament and LC will face Mead – which beat Ferris in an earlier game – in a loser-out, winner-to-regional game Tuesday.

When U-Hi (10-4) faced LC (10-5) in late March for a regular-season Greater Spokane League game, it was the Tigers who survived with a 2-1 victory on an off-night for U-Hi goalkeeper Ryan Dixon. On this night, Dixon showed why he is one of the league’s top goalkeepers.

“With how far Ryan Dixon has come from last year, he’s a big part of why we win games,” Houston said. “This game was a seesaw battle and Ryan was outstanding for us.”

Also outstanding for the Titans were senior defenders Brad Maier and Trent Hemingway, who saved two close calls when Dixon was taken out of goal. Maier stopped a wide-open shot for the Titans in the first half and Hemingway cleared a shot in the second half after Dixon slid past the ball.

“Trent and Brad have played for me since they were freshmen and sophomores, and they know exactly what they have to do,” Houston said. “Those three (Maier, Hemingway and Dixon) have complete trust in each other.”

After a scoreless first half, the Tigers took the 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Marc Mauersberger buried the ball into the upper-right corner from 25 yards out.

U-Hi defender Jared Flood tied the game 20 minutes later when he launched a left-footed shot from 25 yards out and buried the ball in the lower-right side of the net, stunning both the Tigers and Flood.

“I saw the opportunity and just hoped for a lucky deflection,” Flood said. “It was pretty cool – I didn’t really expect it.”

Houston did not expect it from his defender either, but he wasn’t surprised that it happened.

“I’ve had him step up and play outside midfield before,” Houston said. “He has a tremendous left foot and the fact that he’s able to knock that kind of shot in tells you the power that he has – that was a clutch shot.”

The true clutch shot, the game-winning goal for the Titans, came in the 78th minute. Aaron Anderberg picked up a through ball from Evan Frobe and got around one defender before burying a 10-yard shot into the back of the net.

“I didn’t realize what had happened there for a second,” Frobe said. “I knew it was going in – I didn’t even really think about it – I just took the shot.”

LC goalkeeper Evan Gaul had four saves in the game.

“This was such a good game – both teams played good defense and both goalkeepers did an outstanding job – it could have gone either way,” Houston said.

Mead 3, Ferris 1: A solid first half for the Panthers’ offense was all it took as Mead eliminated the Saxons (11-6) in a loser-out game at Albi.

Cameron Bushey scored one goal and assisted on another for the Panthers (12-3), who will take on LC in a loser-out, winner-to-regional game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Albi.

Bushey scored at the 14-minute mark to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead early in the game. Ferris midfielder Ian Hartfield scored the game-tying goal in the 28th minute, but the Panthers quickly took the lead for good as Mike Shriver assisted an Adrian Tarkington goal 2 minutes later.

Tim Doggett scored on an assist from Bushey, adding an insurance goal for Mead at the 33-minute mark.