That goose egg in the Cheney High School girls’ soccer team’s win column is a thing of the past.
The Lady Blackhawks got a hat trick — three goals — from forward/midfielder Sarah Fix last Thursday to pull out a 3-1 road win over the Pullman Greyhounds, giving Cheney it’s first win of the season.
Fix’s first two goals in the 14th and 18th minutes were virtually identical, deflections off the Greyhounds goalkeeper that bounced out about 25 yards that the senior chipped back in for scores. The third, in the 75th minute after Pullman had pulled within one on Anne Mari Petrino’s goal, was a free kick Fix curled around the defensive wall and just inside the near post to seal the win.
Cheney out shot Pullman 8-5 with goalkeeper Paige Lewis making five stops. For head coach Nels Radtke, the win was something he knew would eventually come, and hopes will lead to better things.
“We just needed to get that first game,” he said. “Once we got that win, it could be the turn around (for the season).”
The Lady Blackhawks came very close to getting that first win at home against Great Northern League leader West Valley. Kendyl Cone gave Cheney a rarity — an early lead — with an unassisted goal in the first minute, and the Lady Blackhawks played good, aggressive soccer even after the Eagles’ Jenna Sullens’ goal in the 24th minute equalized the game.
But a penalty kick goal on a bad foul right before the half served to swing momentum West Valley’s way, and the Eagles added a goal in the 62nd minute and one at the final whistle for a 4-1 win. West Valley out shot Cheney 12-4 with Lewis making eight saves.
With the split, Cheney moves to 1-3 in the GNL, 3 points, 1-7 overall, with matches this week at third-place East Valley (2-2, 3-2, 6 points) Tuesday and a home contest Thursday with second-place Clarkston (3-1, 5-1, 9 points). And while the Pullman win was nice, Radtke said there’s still a lot the team needs to work on to capitalize on it and move forward.
“We still had a hard time connecting our passes,” he said. “Once we figure that out, I think we can be a very good team.”
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)