Bulldogs advance to 4A Region 1 championship

SANDPOINT — Evidently, the head was all right, as junior Joab Logan shook off a potentially serious cranium injury and scored four goals to lead Sandpoint to a crisp, 5-1 win over Moscow on Monday during the 4A Region 1 boys soccer tournament opener at War Memorial Field.

The No. 2 seed Bulldogs (10-5-2) picked an opportune time to break out their best soccer of the season, dominating the No. 3 seed Bears (3-10-2) from start to finish, batting the ball around in a clean, sharp and attacking fashion.

The red-hot Logan, who has now scored six goals in the past two games after being moved up front into the attack, had a scary moment early in the game. He leaped forward to try and head in a cross, and hit his head on the goal post, writhing in pain for about 20 seconds on the ground.

Thankfully, the injury wasn’t as bad as it first appeared, and Logan returned to action and promptly scored his second and third goals just seven minutes apart to blow the game open midway through the first half.

“He’s a handful, just so difficult to defend,” said Bulldogs head coach Adam Tajan of Logan. “He’s hard to take the ball from.”

Anthony Fox, Jeremiah Gagnon, Matthew Burgstahler and Tim Thoreson each had an assist to Logan, including a beautiful cross from Thoreson from the corner that was headed in back post by Logan. Burgstahler, who was effective and dangerous from the midfield in the attack, scored the final goal of the game.

Austin Keyes was solid in goal for the Bulldogs, making two diving saves to keep a clean sheet for his 60-plus minutes of action, and Jeffrey Rokstad made some shutdown defensive stops in the back third.

The Bulldogs looked focused and hungry, playing arguably their soccer of the season at the best possible time.

“You definitely could tell that they were on a mission,” said Tajan. “We were winning balls in the air, loud, organized, just passionate about the game.”

After Sandpoint goalie Jake Rookey relieved Keyes and promptly stopped a penalty kick, Moscow was able to spoil the shutout in the 75th minute off a looping shot from the top of the box.

The Bulldogs now turn their attention to Wednesday’s championship game with No. 1 seed Lakeland, who went 4-0 in 4A North play on the season. The Bulldogs lost 2-1 in the first meeting, and 1-0 in the second  meeting, and including last year’s district championship game, have now lost three straight to the suddenly-formidable Hawks.

The end the streak, Tajan said his team not only needs to bring 80 minutes of intensity, but feature the same knack for scoring displayed on Monday night.

“Finishing, we’ve got to find the back of the net,” said Tajan of the key to beating Lakeland. “And we can’t have any mental letdowns.”

The 4A Region 1 championship is at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Lakeland. The winner advances to state in the loser-out game.

First half — 1, Spt, Joab Logan (Anthony Fox), 4:00. 2, Logan (Jeremiah Gagnon), 21:00. 3, Logan (Tim Thoreson), 8:00. Second half — 4, Spt, Logan (Matthew Burgstahler), 65:00. 5, Mos, Kyle Peterson (unassisted), 75:00. 6, Spt, Burgstahler (Treavor Franck), 78:00.

Shots on goal — Mos 7, Spt 12.

Saves — Mos, Nick Anderton, 6; Spt, Austin Keyes 4, Jake Rookey 2.