Bulldogs cap off Senior Night with comeback victory over Lewiston

SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint boys soccer team rolled out a starting 11 made up entirely of seniors on Tuesday night at War Memorial Field.

The lineup changes and the emotions of Senior Night got to the Bulldogs early, but eventually they settled in and scored three goals in the second half to capture a 4-2 Inland Empire League victory over Lewiston.

The seniors had a hand in all four goals scored on the night.

"I'm just glad they pulled out the 'W' tonight," head coach Tanner French said.

Prior to the match, Sandpoint honored its 12 seniors — Tyler Bangle, Evan Darling, Keyan Strock, Nolan Angell, Ethan Johnson, Canyon Nash, Shane Griffin, Aidan Smith, Craig Sigman, Lukas Genay-Wolf, John Young and Ander Gauna.

French made sure all 11 that were available to play in the match got their moment to shine, waiting until the eighth minute to make his first substitution.

Lewiston struck first in the fifth minute with a handful of the Bulldogs' starters still on the bench. As the opening 40 minutes went on, Sandpoint slowly started to generate most scoring chances.

In the 25th minute, the Bulldogs finally broke through when Nash served a ball into the box that found Smith, who buried a right-footed shot into the netting to even the score at 1-1. Smith found the back of the net two minutes prior, but he was called offsides.

The Bengals responded four minutes later and took a 2-1 lead into halftime.

French admitted it was difficult to manage the first half with such a large class of seniors, and at the break he delivered a message to his team to help them refocus.

"At half, I told them, 'Calm down, get the nerves out and start to enjoy it, but do not start to enjoy it until it's 4-2,'" he said.

The Bulldogs delivered in the final 40 minutes and played with a noticeable sense of urgency, outshooting Lewiston 12-1.

Seven minutes into the second half, Smith scored again to make it 2-2 and about 15 minutes later Strock sent a ball off the crossbar and into the net to give Sandpoint its first lead of the match.

With about seven minutes left, sophomore Pierce McDermott sealed the win when he buried a rebound off a shot from Griffin.

The Bulldogs secured the victory while battling through all the distractions Senior Night brings, French said.

"The boys just proved that pretty much anything can be done, you just got to put your mind to it," he said.

Following last week's 1-0 win over Post Falls, French said he wanted more players that were goal-hungry. Smith came up to French over the last week and told him he was goal-hungry, but French said he just shrugged it off and didn't think much of it. On Tuesday, Smith showed his coach just how determined he was to find the back of the net, tallying two goals.

"I love being proven wrong," French said. "Aidan's really stepped up in numerous roles this year, so I'm happy for him."

French said a handful of players had standout performances, including Griffin, sophomore Eoin Eddy and freshman Henry Barnes.

Barnes' name wasn't on the score sheet, but French said he earned man of the match for his play at defensive midfielder.

"He put forth the most crucial effort and I think that was just having the 'Big Dog' mentality the entire game," he said. "I think it was easily noticeable how much of a difference maker he was."

Young made his first career varsity start at goalkeeper and finished with four saves. French was impressed by the senior's performance between the pipes.

"John Young has been playing with JV all year and he stepped in and played pretty well," French said. "One of the saves I was like, 'Woah, how did he save that?' ... Those are moments you are going to remember for the rest of your life."

French said these seniors are a tight-knit group and it showed against the Bengals.

"It seems like just a couple years ago they were in that seven through nine group of Strikers and we were coaching them," he said, "and they still have that little quirky smile."

Sandpoint (5-3, 4-2 IEL) heads to Moscow at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

"I think guys are starting to find their groove," French said. "If we can put together a full 80, we'll be a dangerous team."

First half — 1, Lewiston, Teddy Kessler (unassisted), 5:00. 2, Sandpoint, Aidan Smith (Canyon Nash), 25:00. 3, Lewiston, Teddy Kessler (Paul Kessler), 29:00. Second half — 4, Sandpoint, Smith (unassisted), 47:00. 5, Sandpoint, Keyan Strock (Shane Griffin), 61:00. 6, Sandpoint, Pierce McDermott (Griffin), 73:00.

Shots — Lewiston 7, Sandpoint 18.

Saves — Lewiston, Nash Acord 10; Sandpoint, John Young, 4.