Girls soccer playoffs: Mt. Spokane brings experience

The Mt. Spokane girls soccer team is hoping that past success translates into a more – starting Tuesday.

The Wildcats are back in the 3A regionals, hoping to build on a five-year résumé that includes five Greater Spokane League titles, four Elite 8 appearances and a state runner-up finish in 2012.

The freshmen on that team are seniors now, including co-captains and twin sister Ashley and Brittney Sanders. “They’ve had that taste of success, and they’ve made a huge impact with their leadership,” said coach Ryan Campanella, who also counts on senior Megan Nilsson in goal.

“The postseason is about senior leadership and understanding what it takes to to deep in the playoffs,” said Campanella, whose 11-4 team travels to Kennewick for the regional title match against Southridge at 5 p.m. The winner advances directly to state and the loser gets a second chance later this week.

“We’re really hungry to get that first seed at state,” Campanella said.

The teams met twice in the postseason last year, with Mt. Spokane taking a 4-3 regional win over Southridge but losing 1-0 in the state quarterfinals.

“We know them pretty well,” said Campanella, who said the Suns (15-2) are a program “that’s been on the rise. We have a lot of respect for what they’re capable of, especially their speed.”

Mt. Spokane comes into regionals with three losses in its last five matches, all against the GSL’s 4A teams. “Every year, we’re in such a competitive league,” said Campanella, whose club went 5-4 in the GSL but lost three of those matches by a single goal and the other by 3-1 to league champ Gonzaga Prep.

The Wildcats also persevered through injury, as three players, including Nilsson, were lost for part of the season through injury.

Mt. Spokane is coming off a 4-1 win over North Central in the district title match.

4A

The GSL has three teams in the five-team regional field, and at least one is guaranteed to reach state.

First up, University (11-5) visits Richland on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a loser-out match, with the winner advancing to play at district champ Gonzaga Prep (13-2) on Thursday at 6. The winner of that match is guaranteed a berth in state and will play on Saturday for the regional title.

As the top seeded team, G-Prep is guaranteed to host all regional matches.

Also on Thursday, district runner-up Ferris (9-7) visits Chiawana at 6. The winner advances to Saturday’s regional title game while the loser still has a chance to take finish third.

2A

Great Northern League regular season champ East Valley (10-2, 12-3) hosts Clarkston (8-8- 5-7) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a match that will send both teams to next week’s regionals.

Knights have won eight of their last nine, including a 5-1 win over Clarkston in the regular-season finale.