Cheney faced North Kitsap Nov. 13 in round one of state playoffs
CHENEY – There was little doubt last Saturday about the Lady Blackhawks chances in 2A soccer post season play.
Cheney took an early 1-0 lead, and then poured it on with three more goals in the last eight minutes of the first half to dominate visiting Othello 5-0 in regional action between the Great Northern League’s No.1 seed and the No. 4 of the Central Washington Athletic Conference. The win advanced the Lady Blackhawks to the first round of state tournament play, hosting North Kitsap on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Gonzaga Prep High School in Spokane.
The Lady Blackhawks were never seriously challenged by the visiting Huskies (11-9), with Cheney’s midfield thwarting most attempts by Othello to push the ball forward.
By contrast, Cheney’s forwards were aggressive and more than the Huskies could handle.
Mackenzie Huotari got the scoring going in the ninth minute, taking a crossing pass from Jocelyn Cone and knocking it past Othello goalkeeper Lane Simpson into the net.
Cheney made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute as Makenna Benson passed ahead to Lexi VanHorne who knocked home a goal with two Othello defenders surrounding her.
In the 32nd minute, Kaitlin Teeters controlled a 50-50 ball from Simpson and footed it into the goal from about four yards out to make the score 3-0. From there, things came crashing down on the visitors as Abi Kasparek floated a 30-35 yard score from just outside the center circle in the 38th minute, and Cone scored her second goal with assists by Huotari and Emma Scott in the 39th minute to essentially put the game out of reach.
Cheney outshot Othello 14-2, with goalkeepers Sydney McCarthy and Sydney Reagan making two saves.
The win moves the Lady Blackhawks to 15-3 overall. Their opponent Wednesday night, North Kitsap, came in at 15-2-1, first-place in the Olympic 2A league standings.
A Cheney win would propel the Lady Blackhawks into the state quarterfinals against the winner of the Orting at Selah match up, also on Wednesday.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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