Cardinals close out regular NEA soccer season with split

The phenomenal soccer career at Medical Lake of Makayla Geiger came to a close last week, but the Cardinals are hoping to get some additional time for the record-setting forward in the postseason.

Medical Lake (7-5 NEA, 8-7 overall) earned a split in a pair of Northeast A League matches that closed out the regular season, beating Colville 4-2 on Senior Day under the lights at Holliday Field, Oct. 18, before losing 6-0 at Lakeside the following afternoon.

Geiger, who now has 65 career goals, upped her season total to 25 with two first-half markers, plus added an assist. Nicole Wetherell gave the Cards a 3-1 lead at the half. Julia Olmstead scored her first goal of the season on a crossing pass from Lilly Havens to complete the scoring.

“Mak is just an amazing payer,” head coach Zane Higgins said.

At NEA leading Lakeside (11-1, 15-1) the hangover from an emotional senior sendoff might have led to a lethargic outing.

“The Lakeside game was a combination of us playing without much energy and them playing extremely well,” Higgins said. “It was their Senior Night and they played strong. They have a very good team this year but I think we can play the better than we did.”

Medical Lake could get another shot at the Eagles. The Cardinals finished fourth in the NEA and hosted Colville in a loser-out contest played Oct. 24 at home. Win and they play at Lakeside, 3:30 p.m. today, Oct. 26 in a double-elimination playoff round.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].