Dueling hat tricks leads to 3-3 draw; boys soccer hosts regional final Thursday

SANDPOINT — The recent rivalry in boys soccer between Sandpoint and Moscow has produced a plethora of memorable moments. Thursday's Inland Empire League match at War Memorial Field was no different.

Sandpoint's Zander Moore and Moscow's Braden Grieshaber each scored a hat trick to force a 3-3 tie between the two schools. The draw gave the Bulldogs the No. 1 seed in the 4A Region 1 tournament. Sandpoint (4-4-3, 3-0-1 IEL) will host the winner of Monday's game between Moscow and Lakeland in the district final 6 p.m. next Thursday at War Memorial Field.

"Zander carried the team tonight and that's huge for him," head coach Tanner French said about Moore. "Last year, he did the same thing so he's got something against Moscow and I would too."

Thursday's match was full of ups and downs by both teams and Sandpoint fought back from a deficit twice to force a tie.

"The game had everything except quality soccer," French said.

The Bulldogs came out looking to score early and they did. Just over two minutes in, a rebound off a shot from Evan Darling found the foot of Moore and he buried it.

After the goal, it felt like all the energy Sandpoint built got sucked right away.

"I think the last couple of games we've really pushed out of the gates to get that first goal and I think we become a little lackadaisical after that," French said.

Moscow capitalized in the 32nd minute when Grieshaber scored to knot the game at 1-1. Two minutes later, Grieshaber found the back of the net again to give the Bears a 2-1 halftime lead.

Moscow outshot Sandpoint 7-6 in the opening half, but in the final 40 minutes Sandpoint dominated the scoring chances.

Five minutes into the second half, Moore buried a free kick from about 20 yards out to even the score at 2-2.

The Bulldogs continued to pressure the Bears after the score and in the 61st minute, Darling hit a pair of headers that nearly found the back of the net. Three minutes later, a corner kick swung into the box resulted in a mad scramble, three shots by Sandpoint and no goal.

In the 69th minute, Moscow took advantage of one of its two second-half shots when Grieshaber broke through the Sandpoint defense and hit a strike into the back of the net. Goalkeeper Roman Jiles got a piece of it, but not enough.

However, Sandpoint didn't fold. In the 77th minute, Moore blasted home another free kick goal from 20 yards out to give the Bulldogs their second straight draw.

"I think we just got outhustled and outplayed which is actually a good thing because knowing how we can compete, the district final will be much different if we meet again," French said.

The Bulldogs outshot Moscow 18-9 and Jiles finished with three saves.

All season, French has been asking his players to be more passionate on the field and to play every match like its their last because it could get taken away at any moment. The Bulldogs will need that fire next week, French said.

"It was very real as far as us not having a season, so we're here and we need to make the most of it," he said.

First half — 1, Sandpoint, Zander Moore (Evan Darling), 3:00. 1, Moscow, Braden Grieshaber (Evan Odberg), 32:00. 2, Moscow, Grieshaber (Benny Kitchel), 34:00. Second half — 2, Sandpoint, Moore (free kick), 45:00. 3, Moscow, Grieshaber (unassisted). 3, Sandpoint, Moore (free kick), 77:00.

Shots — Sandpoint 18, Moscow 9.

Saves — Sandpoint, Roman Jiles, 3. Moscow, Theo Dicus, 7.