Cardinals advance in District 7 soccer playoffs

Playing what head coach Zane Higgins called, “Our two most consistent games,” Medical Lake advanced in the District 7 soccer postseason.

The Cardinals (9-8) got the performance it expects from Makayla Geiger who scored all three goals in a 3-0 victory over Colville Oct. 24 that propelled them into the double-elimination round where they opened at Lakeside, losing a disappointing 1-0 match Oct. 26 in a shootout.

Medical Lake faces Freeman at 5:30 p.m. today at Spokane Falls Community College. It’s a loser-out contest with the winner facing Cascade of Leavenworth Saturday at Lakeside.

Against Colville, Geiger got her first two goals off assists from Jaxyn Farmen as they peppered the Indians (3-11) with 27 shots. Ellie Accord got the helper on Geiger’s final tally. Both of the final goals game late in the 60th and 70th minutes — and provided insurance for Taylor Cannon in goal who recorded her sixth shutout of the season.

“We stayed organized in both games and made it difficult for them to generate quality scoring chances,” Higgins said.

Thursday in ML’s third meeting of the season against Lakeside, 5-2 and 6-0 losses, Higgins resorted to his staple — defense to try to corral the 16-1 Eagles who were regular season Northeast A League champs.

We played a more defensive game against Lakeside and did a great job of staying with our marks in midfield,” Higgins explained. “Julia Olmstead, Lilly Havens and Ellie Accord did an outstanding job limiting the Lakeside midfield play as much as possible.”

So it came down to a shootout after 80 minutes of regulation play, plus a pair of five-minute overtimes. Accord got the Cardinals’ lone goal with the Eagles winning 2-1 on Maddie Hall’s score.

Medical Lake was on the receiving end of a 27-shot barrage. “(Keeper) Taylor (Cannon) had another great day,” Higgins said.

The Cardinals face a Freeman (12-4) team they lost to twice, 5-0 and 5-2. To change those fortunes, the Cardinals will need to play the defense they exhibited last week.

“We’ll have to continue to play the kind of defense we’ve been playing while also trying to break out and generate more scoring chances,” Higgins said.

The game will be played on a artificial surface at the SFCC stadium. “The turf will play a role increasing the speed of play,” Higgins said. “We will have to adjust our game slightly to compensate for the differences.”

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