Priest River boys soccer surges past St. Maries in league opener

PRIEST RIVER — Senior Bradley Gleason netted a pair of goals and junior Luke Butler made eight saves in net to help Priest River boys soccer secure a 3-0 Intermountain League win over St. Maries on Saturday.

About 30 minutes prior to the game, head coach Daryl Hall was rushed to the hospital after swallowing a bee and getting stung in the back of the throat. Fortunately, he was alright and returned to the sidelines five minutes after the game ended.

Despite all that, Hall still shared some thoughts on how his team played.

"The boys played very well keeping the ball on St. Maries half of the field the majority of the game," he said. "It was a very positive game as the team is really starting to work together."

Priest River outshot the Lumberjacks 30-8. Shane Gamber and Bowen Fegert each had an assist.

The Spartans faced a tough opponent in their season opener last Thursday, but showed a lot of promise.

"We did great," Hall said. "There's a few little skill issues, but overall they improved leaps and bounds from the last game last year. To me, that's all I look for is improvement each game."

Stillwater Christian School handed the Spartans a 4-0 defeat.

The Cougars opened the scoring in the ninth minute when a corner kick found the foot of Clayton Cole-Tinkham in the box. Stillwater Christian added to its advantage in the 20th minute following a blocked shot in the box.

Then in the 25th minute, the Spartans looked destined to find the back of the net when Fegert sent a free kick inside the box that found the head of freshman Tyler Engelson.

Engelson thrusted the ball toward the goal, but unfortunately the shot went just over the crossbar.

Just two minutes later, a turnover by the Spartans in front of the net allowed Stillwater Christian to score again. The Cougars carried the 3-0 lead into halftime.

Stillwater Christian continued to control the pace in the second half and broke through for their fourth goal in the 72nd minute.

Priest River refused to let up and that drive nearly led to a score in the closing moments of the game. In the 78th minute, Gleason drove toward the net and fired a shot that was saved by the Cougars' goalkeeper. However, the rebound found the foot of sophomore Carson Hughes, who had a wide open net in front of him. Hughes shot clanked off the inside off the right post and the ball rolled across the front of the goal before the Stillwater Christian keeper jumped on it.

The Spartans were inches away from avoiding a shutout.

Stillwater Christian outshot the Spartans 23-9.

Butler kept Priest River in the match with his 11 saves. Hall said Butler was a force between the pipes.

"He's gotten even more aggressive this year and better," he said.

Priest River (1-1, 1-0 IML) heads to Bonners Ferry next Tuesday.

First half — 1, PR, Shane Gamber, 21:00. Second half — 2, PR, Bradley Gleason (Shane Gamber), 49:00. 3, PR, Gleason (Bowen Fegert), 72:00.

Shots on goal — SM 8, PR 30.

Saves — SM, Greyson Sands, 21; PR, Luke Butler, 8.

First half — 1, Stillwater, Clayton Cole-Tinkham (Creed Norick), 9:00. 2, Stillwater, Trustin Norick (Hayden Remington), 20:00. 3, Stillwater, Remington (unassisted), 27:00. Second half — Remington (unassisted), 72:00.

Shots — Stillwater 23, Priest River 9.

Saves — Stillwater, Dominic DeMario 3; Priest River, Luke Butler 11.