Blackhawks earn pitch split against Clarkston, West Valley

By JOHN McCALLUM

CHENEY – The Blackhawks soccer team’s hold on first place in the Great Northern League suddenly got a little more tenuous last week at West Valley.

The Eagles forced Cheney to play catch up, scoring two first half goals and keeping the Blackhawks at arm’s-length from there for a 3-2 win on Thursday, Oct. 10, trimming Cheney’s lead to a half game and three points.

Abbie Sicilia contributed to both goals, assisting Emma Price on her goal in the 23rd minute and again with Morgan Roiojas’s score in the 39th minute. The Eagles defense held up for most of the way from there before Emma Scott’s solo goal got Cheney on the board in the 75th minute.

Price’s second goal, assisted by Kennedy Cargile, in the 78th minute re-established the home team’s two-goal lead, with Kaitlin Teeters solo goal before the whistle providing the final margin.

Cheney out shot West Valley 10-8, with goalkeeper Sydney McCarthy making four saves and West Valley’s Madison Moloney 10 stops.

Two days earlier on Tuesday, the Blackhawks notched their ninth win of the season with a 2-1 win over visiting Clarkston. The Bantams’ Luella Skinner gave the visitors the early lead with a goal in the 27th minute, and appeared poised for the upset well into the second half.

Enter Teeters, who provided the equalizer in the 63rd minute – assisted by Makenna Benson – and the eventually game winner on a penalty kick in the 71st minute. As they have most of the season, Cheney out shot their opponents 12-5, with Sydney Reagan making four saves. Erica Pickett had 10 saves for the Bantams.

The West Valley game marked the end of the GNL’s second round of play, with teams entering the final round this week. Barring anything unforeseen, the race for the league title has come down to either Cheney or West Valley – with the two teams squaring off in the regular-season finale in Cheney on Oct. 24.

In between, the Blackhawks (8-1, 9-3, 21 points) have road games at third-place East Valley (3-4, 5-6, 9 points) , Oct. 15, and fourth-place Clarkston (2-5, 4-5, 6 points), Oct. 22, with a home game against winless Pullman today, Oct. 17.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.