Cheney High’s girls soccer team absorbed a pair of close losses last week, one on two late second-half goals and the other in an overtime shootout.
The Lady Blackhawks led 2-1 before East Valley scored in the 62nd and 68th minutes for a 3-2 win on Cheney’s pitch Oct. 10. Cheney rebounded two days later to shutout visiting Pullman 2-0, before losing 3-2 in a shootout Saturday at Great Northern League–leading Clarkston.
A pair of goals by Makenna Benson, with assists from Mackenzie Huotari and Riley Klauss put Cheney up 2-1 in the 53rd minute at East Valley. The lead didn’t last long as the Knights’ Kaitlyn Harvey scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute and the eventual game winner six minutes later.
Thursday against the visiting Greyhounds, Benson gave Cheney the eventual winner with a goal in the 39th minute, assisted by Sydney Eaton. Carla Thorson’s goal, assisted by Lelie Holland, in the 45th minute provided some cushion as the Lady Blackhawk out shot Pullman 11-2 in the win.
Saturday was a back-and-forth affair at Clarkston, with all of the scoring coming in a seven-minute span late in the first half. The Bantams’ Anna Sharp got things started with a goal in the 28th minute, followed by Cheney’s equalizer from Emma Evans two minutes later.
Cortney Bogar put Clarkston back on top in the 33rd minute, with Thorson tying it in the 35th minute. Neither team scored in the second half or during two, five-minute overtimes, sending the game to a shootout won by Clarkston 5-4.
Kaitlyn Teeters, Katarina Smith, Huotari and Eaton all notched goals in the shootout for Cheney.
Head coach Nels Radtke said his team is “doing good things” by attacking well, getting the ball forward with numbers against opponents — even while shorthanded against East Valley due to illnesses. Even so, Cheney was out shot in their two loses by a combined 14–10 shots on goal.
“We’re playing well, we just need to play better,” Radtke said, adding junior goalkeeper Melissa Aris is playing exceptionally well.
“Mel is playing out of her mind right now, and we’re not give her enough support,” Radtke added.
Cheney falls to 4-5 in GNL play, fourth-place and 6-6 overall. The Lady Blackhawks still have room to make a move in the league standings, however, with three games remaining.
Cheney hosted third-place West Valley (5-4, 5-6) on Tuesday, and travels to East Valley (6-2, 8-4) Saturday. The Lady Blackhawks wrap up the season Monday against Pullman (1-8, 3-9) in a game postponed from Sept. 7.
Cheney split with West Valley, losing on the road in a game Radtke said they didn’t play well in, adding East Valley is beatable while the Lady Blackhawks play well at home, having lost only once.
“I think we definitely can win all three games,” Radtke added.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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