Lady Blackhawks soccer continue undefeated

One of head coach Nels Radtke's goals for the Lady Blackhawks soccer team this year was to start the season with a winning record and it seems he can check that off the list.

Cheney continued their winning streak with nonleague victories over Greater Spokane League's Shadle Park (2-1), Sept. 6, a 2-0 shutout over Great Northern League rival Pullman (2-0), Sept. 8 and Northeast A League's Medical Lake (5-3), two days later.

Against Shadle Park, the Lady Blackhawks came out of the gate early, with freshman Kailey Estrellado scoring at the five-minute mark. The Highlanders tied the match five minutes later.

Cheney led again after sophomore Gabby Nguyen, assisted by Megan Little, scored at the 39-minute mark. One minute later, Riley Klauss added an insurance goal on a free kick from 30 feet away.

"It's great to get a late goal, let alone get two," Radtke said. "We had a great second half as well."

Shadle outshot Cheney 10-8. Goalkeepers Nicole Rowley and Melissa Aris each had one save.

Like their game against Shadle Park, the Lady Blackhawks attacked Pullman early with freshman Kaitlin Teeters, assisted by Estrellado, scoring her first goal of the year in the fourth minute. Teeters notched her second goal, with an assist from Carla Thorson, at the 21 minute mark.

Cheney outshot Pullman 17-2 with Rowley and Aris recording one save apiece.

"The hard part is we haven't scored in the second half so far," Radtke said. "(Against Pullman) we hit the crossbar a couple of times. It will come, we're creating opportunities."

Cheney capitalized on those opportunities in the Medical Lake game. In the second half, Madison O'Callaghan, assisted by Nguyen, scored at the 44-minute mark, to give Cheney a 4-1 lead. Teeters, assisted by Lelie Holland, finished Cheney's scoring with a goal at the 45-minute mark.

The Lady Blackhawks' offense came fast and early in their game against Medical Lake with Teeters scoring at the 15-minute mark. The Cardinals tied the game with a goal at 18 minutes. Cheney took over the lead one minute later after Estrellado, assisted by Little, scored. Mackenzie Huotari, assisted by Nguyen, hit a goal at the 33rd minute to give the Lady Blackhawks a 3-1 lead going into halftime.

The Lady Blackhawks outshot the Cardinals, 25-8. Aris and Rowley had two saves each.

Radtke noted that his 4-5-1 formation has worked "very well" so far and that he can put players in multiple positions,

"Sometimes difficult for me and the other coaches to figure out is who fits best, where," Radtke said. "Games like Pullman are a good time to figure that out."

Cheney is (1-0 GNL, 3 points and 4-0 overall) hosted Clarkston (1-0, 3 points 1-0,) in a league game, Sept. 13. The Lady Bantams came into the game with a 2-1 win over West Valley (0-1, 0-3) on Sept. 8.

The Lady Blackhawks travel to West Valley tonight (Sept. 15) to play the Eagles.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].