Cheney soccer feels the heat of competition

Cheney boys soccer head coach Mark Kiver knew before the season started that his 2015 Blackhawks would be in a battle this time around for league supremacy, and a battle is just what they're getting.

Cheney split a pair of matches last week, getting a late second-half goal to down Clarkston on the road Tuesday, and then being the recipient of similar disappointment as West Valley connected with the net just before the clock hit 80 minutes to post a 1-0 win last Thursday.

Cheney was the better team against the Eagles when it came to controlling the tempo of the game and dictating the style of play, keeping the ball in the West Valley half of the field for most of the game. The Blackhawks out shot West Valley 7-4, and had one second-half apparent goal overturned by an offside call before Chris Hatten broke free of Cheney defenders and lined a shot to the left of diving goalkeeper Kameron Galm for the game winner with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

"After the game a captain (Tad Tinker) summed it up," Kiver said. "Couple of games we've been out played and got the win. Today, we played more than well enough to win and didn't."

Kiver said Hatten's shot came as a result of a "great effort," and he also praised the work of Eagles goalkeeper Babinski, who made several outstanding saves.

Kiver said the Blackhawks didn't have a great effort Tuesday at Clarkston, and the team knew it. Cheney seemed to get some momentum and inspiration on a late first-half goal, with Oliver Smith hitting Noah Prophet for a score in the 39th minute.

But in the second half, the Bantams had a rather strong wind at their back, which Kiver said helped them clear more balls out of their half of the field and culminated in Lance Blank delivering the equalizer on a header in the 52nd minute. The score motivated Cheney, and Kelby Holland delivered what proved to be the game winner on a breakaway score in the 60th minute.

Cheney out shot Clarkston 9-4 with goalkeeper Trevor Walker making four saves.

Cheney moves to 7-4 overall and 6-2 in Great Northern League play, tied with Pullman for the league lead with 18 points. The Blackhawks are set to begin round three of league play this week, hosting East Valley on April 21 and traveling to Pullman to face the Greyhounds April 23.

Cheney is still in a great position to earn its fifth straight GNL regular season title, should the Blackhawks sweep their final four games, or even go 3-1. Cheney has already defeated Pullman twice, and would own any tiebreaker situation outside wins and losses and total points.

But while winning a title would be nice, Kiver said it is not something central to the Blackhawks goal.

"Most importantly is finishing these last four games with some momentum and (getting to) know who we are," he said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].