The Cheney High School boys soccer team is very familiar with shootouts this season and they added another one to their belt with a 3-2 win at Clarkston on March. 20.
“We had a rough start,” head coach Rene Caro said in an email. “We looked sluggish and completely out of tune. We were trying to play at 100 mph and found little to no success. Clarkston came out with lots of energy and took advantage of our mental lapses.”
The Bantams had a 2-0 lead going into halftime, but Cheney came out in the second half and scored in the 43rd minute from a penalty kick by junior midfielder Noah Schorzman.
In the 58th minute, junior midfielder Bas Holland sent in a corner kick that junior midfielder Alex Petropoulos knocked into goal. Senior goalkeeper Dalton Mauzay came up with three clutch saves towards the end of regulation, which sent the game into overtime.
“We adjusted out players’ roles at the break and knew we had to come out and work, non-stop for 40 plus minutes,” Caro said. “In overtime, it was an up-and-down contest that ended in a stalemate.”
After overtime, the game went into shootout and the Blackhawks scored their first four goals from junior Sam Fix, junior Alfredo Camarena, freshman Dawson Heuett and Schorzman. Clarkston scored twice in the shootout. During the third kick, the Bantams shot went wide and Mauzay came up with a save from the fourth kicker, giving Cheney the win.
“This proved to be a much deserved win,” Caro said. “The team’s effort was at another level in the second half. We had a slow start and we’ll look to improve our form off of the initial whistle. However, I couldn’t be happier with their unmatched desire to win. They proved that they wanted it more on the field and, sometimes, that’s all that counts.”
The Blackhawks had another Great Northern League matchup on March 22 at West Valley and Cheney fell 1-0. The loss puts the team at 2-1 in the league standings so far this season.
“West Valley game was a tough one to digest,” Caro said. “Our effort as a team was well below where it needed to be and, on top of that, we were extremely unlucky in every aspect of the game. Our decision-making, both, defensively and offensively proved to be the leading factor in our loss.”
The Blackhawks were set to play at Medical Lake on March 24, but due to weather conditions the game was canceled.
Cheney continued competition on Tuesday, March 27, at East Valley and travels to Pullman today, March 29.
Grace Pohl can be reached at [email protected].
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