By MIKE HUFFMAN
Staff Reporter
Top-10 national rankings and undefeated seasons suddenly don't seem so important in the wake of a shootout loss.
Just ask the Cheney Blackhawks.
After climbing to a 19-0 undefeated season -- and coming off of shutouts against the Riverside Rams and the Pullman Greyhounds to enter the state 2A tournament – the Blackhawks inexplicably could not put the ball in the net.
The result was a 1-0 shootout loss Tuesday that sent the Mustangs to the next round and the Hawks out for the year.
“You've got to credit Prosser for a great game,” coach Steve Davis said as the Hawks stood in stunned silence after Prosser's Juan Alcarez put one just out of Cheney goalkeeper David Sigley's reach to give Prosser the 4-3 edge in the shootout after playing to a stalemate in regulation and overtime. “We fought hard – we just couldn't finish.”
Indeed, the game was nearly textbook Blackhawks. The team played most of the game on the Mustangs' side of the field and had plenty of scoring chances – Cheney out-shot Prosser by a wide margin – and lots of balls crossing midfield in front of Mustang goalkeeper Juan Munoz.
Munoz, for his part, was brilliant and managed to keep Cheney's attackers at bay by being first to the ball off of Cheney corner kicks.
“We couldn't get balls in the net,” Davis said. “You have to credit their defenders.”
Cheney lost some momentum when Ryan Chang went out on a questionable red card. Depleted on defense, the Hawks counted on their offense more than ever but couldn't get a goal in 90 minutes of play.
More quality scoring chances came in overtime; unfortunately just as many came Prosser's way. Sigley made two stunning saves to his right side that could have ended the game for the Mustangs then and there.
Cheney got off to a good start in the shootout with Mitchell Weller putting the ball in the upper right corner. Prosser's Jesus Barajas couldn't get it past Sigley, and Cheney had a 1-0 advantage.
Caton Oyoloker was robbed by Munoz, then Magnus Harsfjord scored for the Mustangs to keep things even.
Next up for Cheney was Zakrzewski, who also found space to Munoz's upper-right side. But Anthony Cervantez's quick shot stunned Sigley.
Nathan Lewis couldn't connect for Cheney, but Luis Mendoza found space on Sigley with the advantage going to Prosser.
Caleb Johnson scored on Cheney's next turn, but the final shot went to Alcarez for the game-winner.
Cheney had accolades all season and limited opponents to just four goals all season. The Hawks earned national attention with an eighth-place ranking at one point on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
Cheney should have a strong team next year as only six seniors will graduate: Chang, Adam Brock, Tanner Brook, Tyler Ziemann, Zakrzewski and Johnson.
“This is tough on the seniors,” Davis said. “They've worked so hard and shown so much leadership.”
To get to the first round of the state playoffs, Cheney had to first get past Pullman last Saturday or the first seed.
The 4-0 win looked lopsided, but Cheney played a significant amount of the first half in the Greyhounds end of the field at neutral site Gonzaga Prep.
Oyoloker finally broke through at the 25-minute mark to give the Hawks a bit of comfort with a 1-0 lead. Oyoloker was assisted on the play by a feed from defender Ryan Chang.
The second half of the game was the Weller show, as the Hawk forward – and GNL scoring leader – performed a pure hat trick by getting goals at 47:00 (assisted by Zakrzewski), 66:00 (unassisted) and 69:00 (Anderson).
Pullman had just two shots on goal during the game – not an unusual circumstance against Cheney. Sigley made one save to earn the shutout to set up the Hawks' first GNL postseason appearance.
On the same day, Prosser beat Ephrata 2-1 in a shootout to set up Tuesday's contest in Cheney.
Last Thursday, Cheney's secured their spot to continue on in the playoffs with a 6-0 thumping of the 8-8 Riverside Rams on the Hawks' own turf.
The Rams never could get any momentum against the powerful Cheney team. Zakrzewski and Weller combined for two goals apiece – Zakrzewski got the game-winner at 13 minutes in.
Caleb Johnson got the team's third goal on a Zakrzewski assist at 24:00. Ben Igbinoba got the final goal for the Hawks at 72:00.
Sigley had to make only one save on Riverside, who was ousted from the tournament with the loss.
Mike Huffman can be reached at mhuffman@cheneyfreepress.com
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