GSL girls soccer: Quick-striking Ferris rallies past Lewis and Clark
Instilled with a sense of urgency, the Ferris girls soccer team responded in dramatic fashion Wednesday afternoon.
In a just a 10-minute span after halftime, the Saxons scored three goals to rally past Lewis and Clark for a 3-2 win in their Greater Spokane League opening match.
There was no stirring halftime speech from new coach Robin Crain, just a few words about playing at a quicker pace.
“Either that or they stopped listening to me,” Crain joked after his first GSL girls match in almost a decade.
It was almost as if Crain never left.
“There are so many good teams in the GSL, but I think we may be right there with anybody,” said Crain, whose team improved to 3-3 overall.
The Saxons, who didn’t even reach District 8 4A play last year, seemed out of the running early Wednesday in front of about 200 fans at sunny Hart Field.
Lewis and Clark threatened early and wasted a pair of early chances but struck first with a goal from Rebekah Reason in the 20th minute.
Four minutes later, Reason found Paige Malm in space, and Malm responded with a close-in shot that made it 2-0.
The Tigers kept control before halftime, when Ferris responded to Crain’s plea to play the ball quickly.
“Then the girls started moving and it worked in our favor,” Crain said.
Less than two minutes in the second half, Alexis Murphy scored an unassisted goal against a slow-footed LC defense.
Seven minutes later, Sydney Clements found McKenna Cutler on stride, and Cutler evened the match.
Less than a minute after that, Bria Bowton’s long shot hit the left post and Cutler swooped for the eventual winner.
“I knew when Bria hit the post, that I would have a chance at it,” said Cutler, a senior who savored the Saxons’ first win over LC in four tries and a new attitude on this year’s team.
“It’s been really good,” Cutler said. “We have good team chemistry, the coach is great and so are the assistants.”
Around the GSL
Two-time defending State 4A champion Central Valley opened defense of its GSL title with a 5-0 win at Rogers. Hailey Tucker and Kailyn Labroffe combined for three scores in the first five minutes for CV, which outshot the Pirates 27-4 and improved to 4-1 overall. Leading 4-0 at halftime, CV got another goal in the 49th minute from Teegan Wicker.
Preseason GSL favorite Mead opened GSL play with a 9-1 home win over North Central as Alea Acosta posted three goals and three assists. Cheris Brown’s pass to Acosta gave the Panthers a 6-1 lead at halftime. Mead improved to 5-0 overall, while NC dropped to 1-4.
Peyton Malone scored two back-to-back goals for Mt. Spokane to lead the Wildcats to a 6-0 home shutout of Shadle Park. Mt. Spokane also saw scores from five additional players as well including Jaidyn Lyman, Ashley Sanders, Haley Schnug and Payton Stiles.
Becca Crum came away with a second-half goal to lift Gonzaga Prep over University 1-0 in the late game played at Bullpup Stadium. G-Prep improved to 3-2 and U-Hi fell to 3-3.