Pullman still in hunt
Not many teams have been able to slow down Medical Lake on the boys high school soccer front this spring.
But Pullman found a way on Saturday, dumping the high-scoring Cardinals 2-1 in an important Great Northern League matchup in Medical Lake.
The Greyhounds (5-4 overall, 4-2 in the GNL) did it by dominating midfield play and keeping close tabs on Medical Lake’s Devon Prince, who leads the league in scoring with 11 goals and five assists.
“Their kid is very fast, and direct with the ball,” Pullman coach Doug Winchell said of Prince, who assisted on the Cardinals’ only goal. “He puts immense pressure on defenders, and you could see how he’s capable of breaking people down and scoring so much.
“But we got outstanding performances from our two centerbacks, Brennan Nofsinger and Adam Verrell, so we were able to control a lot of the play in the midfield, and that denied them access to the game they wanted to play.”
Medical Lake (6-4, 4-3) was averaging more than four goals per game heading into last weekend’s showdown against the Greyhounds.
The Cardinals had already slapped lopsided losses on Deer Park (10-2), Clarkston (7-1) and Lakeside (6-0) and their goal differential of plus-24 was the best among GNL teams.
“They’re very hard to defend,” Winchell said. “But both Brennan and Adam have some pretty good speed, which really helped in trying to contain Prince.”
Pullman’s Kevin Spangenberg had a first-half assist and second-half goal against Medical Lake, raising his season totals to 10 goals and three assists in nine games.
Saturday’s win allowed the Greyhounds, who outshot the Cardinals 14-7, to keep league leaders East Valley (6-0) and Cheney (5-1) in sight, and Winchell expects a close title race the rest of the way.
“Among the teams at the top, anybody is capable of beating anybody,” he said. “East Valley put the hurt on us (3-0) the first time we played them, but I think we have a chance against them (in Tuesday’s rematch). Cheney can beat anybody, and Medical Lake was a tough win for us.
“It’s a four-horse race, with West Valley as a wild card, and it’s probably going to come down to who is playing the best at the end.”
Injuries jar G-Prep
Unbeaten Gonzaga Prep’s chances of staying in the Greater Spokane League championship chase took a big hit recently when junior Kieran Abbotts and sophomore Jake Kraut, both starters, each fractured a bone in their foot.
According to coach Matt Kinder, both will miss the rest of the season for the Bullpups (9-0 overall, 3-0 in the GSL), who won’t play again until April 13, when they host University.
Throw-ins
The Greater Spokane League has no league games scheduled for today, because of spring break. Most of the schools won’t play again until next Wednesday, although University (does have a nonleague home game against East Valley scheduled today). … Ferris (7-1, 5-0), which leads the GSL with 15 points, has shut out its last four opponents and has allowed only one goal in its seven wins. The Saxons’ only setback was a 2-0 nonconference loss to Mead (4-1, 3-0). Those two teams will meet again in a league match at Ferris on Apr. 22. … East Valley has allowed only two goals in its 6-0-1 start.