Mead sends LC to first defeat
Sometimes the soccer ball bounces right. And it bounced right more times for Mead than Lewis and Clark in the Panthers’ 3-1 victory in Friday’s match between Greater Spokane League unbeatens.
Twice Mead had shots bang off the posts, only to bounce favorably and result in second-half goals that staked the victors to a 3-0 lead.
The initial score came following a flurry in front of the goal that drew Tigers keeper Sarah Wood out of the box and into the fray. The ball kicked left and Jill Pecka, one on one against an LC player left to defend the open net, converted.
LC’s goal also was a product of good fortune. With 8 minutes remaining, Lexi Greenwood lobbed a high kick toward the goal with a trailing wind.
It hit the turf, bounced high and over Panthers keeper Jodan Hurley and into the goal.
For much of the first half, LC kept the ball in Mead’s end of the field. But nearly midway into the period, Pecka made her shot over the defender and Mead had its lead.
Panthers coach Steve Snider told his players at intermission that they had been late to every ball and as a result, the Tigers had them in a chase situation.
“I felt at the beginning of the game we had 10 or 15 minutes where LC was playing a little bit faster than we were and we had to adjust to the speed of the play,” Snider said. “I felt we did that and then started seeing our girls play a little qicker offensively, too.”
Things began to happen in the second half when Mikayla Anderson drove around a defender and struck the ball across the goal. It hit the post and bounded out to Jami Hegg, who had an open rebound shot for goal No. 2.
Eight minutes later Morgan Fryman attacked on the left side, hit the post, but got a rebound and converted it to the right side of the goal.
“I feel like those are the kinds of things that tend to happen with players working hard and getting themselves into position,” Snider said. “You’re not always going to score a pretty goal. You need to score a scrappy goal and I feel we were the beneficiaries of our own hard work.”
As the matched wore down, dark clouds roiled ominously overhead like the harbinger of an alien invasion in a science-fiction movie.
But amid thunder, lightning and rain starting to fall, the Panthers (7-0, 5-0 GSL) celebrated a big midseason triumph at home over the Tigers (6-3, 3-1).
In other GSL action, Mt. Spokane’s Delaney Zalud scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season and added an assist in a 3-0 shutout of Central Valley (2-6, 1-3) at Mt. Spokane. Zalud’s goals came from 25 and 30 yards outs. The Wildcats (7-1, 3-1) recorded their third shutout of the season. … University (7-2, 4-1) used 24 shots to score six goals in a 6-0 win over North Central (1-6, 0-5) at U-Hi. Emily Jordan scored the first two goals for the Titans. … Weather was a factor in the match between Gonzaga Prep (6-2, 3-2) and Shadle Park (5-3, 3-1), with the advantage going to the Bullpups in a 2-0 victory at Shadle. Aided by the wind, G-Prep’s Oliva Giulja scored on a 40-yard boot that sailed over the head of Shadle keeper Ashley Rothrock. … East Valley (1-5, 1-4) was outshot by host Ferris (4-5, 2-2) 10-7 but was more efficient, notching its first GSL victory 3-2. Amanda Bliesner scored the go-ahead goal for EV in the 78th minute, her second of the game.