Lakeside still has Medical Lake's soccer number, sweeps Cards

Lakeside continues to have Medical Lake’s number and it’s a problem that has Cardinals’ head coach Zane Higgins scratching his head for an answer.

The Eagles (6-1 NEA, 11-2 overall) scored a 5-0 Northeast A League victory last Thursday to cap a sweep of the season series between the two schools, winning 3-0, 7-2 in previous meetings, outscoring the Cards 15-2 in the three matches. Medical Lake (4-3, 8-6) did get a couple of victories, however, 3-2 over Riverside last Tuesday and a 2-0 nonleague win at home versus Colville.

“We’re trying to figure out how to compete with them a little better because the scores have been a little lopsided,” Higgins said.

What’s been bothering Higgins is he knows his team’s abilities are not reflected in the scores. “We’re a better team than that,” Higgins said. “We’re not competing well.”

Someone who has been competing well recently has been Dallas White who last week accounted for four of his team’s five goals. “He’s kind of found his groove,” Higgins said. ”There are a number of players at the top of their game right now.”

Another player who’s also been finding his strength is Ryan Spangler, the Cards’ leading scorer who scored once against Riverside, but not long after pulled a quad muscle, sidelining him indefinitely.

The Cards were home versus Newport (0-7, 2-9) this past Tuesday and close out the regular season at Riverside (4-3, 6-7), their first-round playoff opponent.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.