GSL Preview Soccer
Balanced again
Lewis and Clark, Mt. Spokane and Mead all finished Greater Spokane League play with identical 9-1 records last fall. In the opinion of league coaches, there’s a good chance all three teams will be in the championship mix again this year – along with three or four others.
“It is important to note the parity in our league,” said Gonzaga Prep coach Christian Birrer, whose Bulldogs finished 6-4 against GSL opponents last fall. “In the past 10 years, Prep, LC, Mead, University and Mt. Spokane – half the league – have all won the title at least once.”
“I think the league is pretty balanced again,” said Mead coach Steve Snider, whose Panthers have won or shared the GSL title the past three seasons, “and I would expect that a fifth- or sixth-place team will be capable of getting a win against the top two or three.”
Snider lost several key players from last year’s team to graduation, including the league’s defensive MVP Jazmine Redmon. He could have as many as six freshmen in his regular rotation. But the Panthers are still considered by many league coaches as the team to beat.
Snider’s preseason favorite, however, is LC.
“They have a lot of talent and depth returning,” Snider said of the Tigers. “I don’t know if they’ll have a bunch of individual standouts, but a lot of their players seem to be interchangeable.
“Everybody runs into injuries during the course of the season, and LC, because of their depth, is probably the team best suited to deal with attrition.”
Strength in goal
There will be no shortage of outstanding goalkeepers in the GSL this fall.
Among the deep and talented pool of returning keepers is North Central senior Asia Porter, who was a first-team all-GSL selection last year, and LC senior Sarah Wood, who was named to the all-league second team.
Three other returnees – Mt. Spokane senior Katie Emery, University senior Kylie Wallace and Shadle Park junior Ashley Rothrock – were named to the honorable mention list.
Other players to watch
Mead’s Mikayla Anderson is back after being named the league’s co-offensive MVP and will be joined on the Panthers’ front line by forward Lindsey Pangborn, another senior, who is dealing with some offseason injury issues.
Other returning all-GSL first-team midfielders include LC senior Annie Pokorny and G-Prep senior Ashley Ames.
Seniors Madison Stewart, from LC, and Central Valley’s Nicole Richardson, are back after being named to the all-GSL second-team front line last year, along with Shayla Weiler, a junior from University.
Top returning defenders included seniors Behka Nemec, from Mead, and U-High’s Amy Thornton, who were both first-team all-league performers in 2009. Four more returning seniors – Mead’s Lindzee Baker, G-Prep’s Shannon Lindsay, Mt. Spokane’s Avery Novak and CV’s Alex Richardson – were second-team all-GSL selections last fall.
| 4. Gonzaga Prep | 8. Shadle Park | |
| 1. Mead | 5. Mt. Spokane | 9. North Central |
| 2. LC | 6. Ferris | 10. Rogers |
| 3. University | 7. Central Valley |