Four-year starters hope to end senior season with a bang
SANDPOINT - Oaks and Claw are best friends, have been since the first day of seventh grade.
They've also been soccer teammates for the last six years, both rare four-year varsity starters on the Sandpoint girls team.
Their coach calls them both tough players and soccer junkies, and you wouldn't get an argument from any of their teammates.
They've even shared the same seat on team bus trips for the last four years.
Suffice it to say, when seniors Brittany Oakley and Brittany Clawson take the pitch today against Post Falls in the 5A district opener for the Bulldogs, an ESP borne of hundreds of games together will be hard at work.
"We kind of know how we play and where we're going to go," says Clawson, the Bulldogs assist leader this year with seven. "I trust her on the field and she's always there as my friend, too. It's just a connection that we have."
The two combined for Sandpoint's biggest goal of the season last year, with Oakley heading in a Clawson corner kick for the winning goal in the 5A district championship game against Coeur d'Alene. Oakley calls it the highlight of her soccer career to date, but clearly both teammates are hoping for a bigger and better moment this year, preferably at state.
Clawson directs the Bulldogs' attack from the midfield, relying on great vision and slick passing while setting the offensive tempo. Oakley is very physical, known for her strength in the air and the accuracy on her free kick bombs. Both cite the team atmosphere and thrill of competition as what they love most about soccer.
"The team is sort of your family," explains Oakley, who has seen her scoring and assists drop slightly from last year while playing more defense and midfield. "You have everyone you can rely on."
Head coach Adam Tajan says the duo have gone through a lot in four years as varsity starters, from missing the state playoffs one year - a rarity in these parts - to welcoming the challenge of moving up to the 5A ranks. Tajan is most impressed by the way they tackled and embraced the move up in classification, a result of their long time Strikers teammate Bailey Hewitt joining the team from Clark Fork.
"Soccer is definitely the first love for the two of them," says Tajan. "They're definitely the soccer groupies of the bunch. They'll put it all out there on the field day in day out."
Both hope to play soccer in college next year, but neither has made any concrete plans. Right now they've got their sights set on Post Falls, then winning a district title, and if all goes well, Oaks and Claw hope to make some noise at the state tournament.