Mead stops G-Prep in overtime
While watching the Mead-Gonzaga Prep Greater Spokane League soccer match unfold on Wednesday, Mead athletic director and former coach Dick Cullen recited a favorite aphorism.
“The first five minutes and the last five minutes,” said Cullen of his old coaching mantra with the Panthers. “That’s when goals are scored.”
He proved prescient. Trailing 1-0 on a freak goal with 6 minutes remaining in the first half, the Panthers forced a tie with 2 minutes left in regulation, then scored in overtime for a 2-1 victory at Mead in a match between two of three unbeaten GSL teams.
The winner came in the 84th sudden-death OT minute by Breanne Taylor, the culmination of a three-shot flurry in front of G-Prep’s goal.
It was continuation of the dominance Mead (7-0, 4-0 GSL, 12 points) enjoyed in the second half of the match. The Panthers outshot the Bullpups (7-1, 3-1, eight points) 24-6. But for all that, it came down to Jill Pecka’s goal in the waning stages of the contest that afforded the Panthers an extra chance.
From inside midfield, Behka Nemec launched a through ball on which both Pecka and Bullpups keeper Mariah Knopp had designs. Pecka got there first, and lobbed the ball over the top of the goalie and into the net.
“Soccer’s funny,” Pecka said. “You just keep on shooting. We had so many good players on the field and had so many chances and it was game pressure for sure. The whole time I was thinking, ‘Relax, Jill. It’s OK.’ After it went in, it was cool. It was very exciting.”
On a hot afternoon, G-Prep struck first late in the initial half. Mead keeper Olivia Johnstone came out on the ball, along with defender Jazmine Redmon. In the attempt to clear it, the ball smacked Bullpups sophomore Ashley Ames with such velocity that it ricocheted backward into the goal.
“Ashley was just chasing down a 50-50 ball and won it,” Bullpups coach Christian Birrer said.
That’s how the match remained despite the fact Mead had the ball in G-Prep’s end of the field the rest of the day, its array of shots missing high or wide.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Mead coach Steve Snider said. “I was happy with how we played. I thought we made good decisions and were creating good opportunities. We were doing everything but putting the ball in the back of net.”
The Bullpups didn’t blink against the shot pressure and kept clearing the ball, Snider said. But eventually, Mead made a big one to force overtime.
“We’ve had absolute wars with Gonzaga over the last two seasons,” Snider said. “And we’ve had crazy finishes the last three times we’ve seen them.”
In the day’s other GSL matches, host Lewis and Clark (9-1, 3-0, nine points) kept pace with the leaders, beating East Valley (3-3, 1-2, three points) 2-0 at Hart Field. Bev Amstadter’s goal 3 minutes into the match came off a rebound, and the Tigers’ defense took over. Danaia Stuck added insurance in the 73rd minute. … Haleigh Miller and Chesea Simmet proved a good combination as host Central Valley (3-3, 1-2, three points) defeated Shadle Park (2-5, 2-2, six points) 5-3 in a back-and-forth contest. Miller scored a first-half hat trick, all on assists by Simmet, for a 3-all tie. Simmet scored the winner off an assist from Miller 10 minutes into the second period. … Carrie Barber scored twice and Erica Smith had two assists in Ferris’ (4-2, 3-1, nine points) 4-0 win over North Central (2-6, 0-5) at Joe Albi Stadium. … In the game that followed at Albi, University (6-3, 3-1, nine points) shut out Rogers (0-4, 0-4) 9-0. Alex Aldecoa had two goals.