PREP ROUNDUP: Hall scores early, Sandpoint boys soccer downs Moscow

BOYS SOCCER

Sandpoint 1, Moscow 0

SANDPOINT — Junior Huxley Hall scored during the ninth minute and Sandpoint fended off Moscow for the remainder of the 5A Inland Empire League match which was held Tuesday at War Memorial Field.

Senior Luke Leavitt assisted the Bulldogs’ lone goal, which Hall buried into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

“Huxley had a great finish around the top of the box and Luke passed him the ball right in the middle,” Sandpoint High head coach Dan Anderson said. “Huxley and Luke just keep producing for us. The two of them are doing very well so far — only three games in. That’s what we expect out of those two, but the fact they’re producing is very helpful, especially in a tight game like that where it's fine margins.”

The match was a very physical one, with both teams picking up multiple yellow cards.

“We knew Moscow was a physical team, so we expected that,” coach Anderson said. “It can be hard to deal with when you’re a goal up and they’re just pushing for a goal. In the second half, our goalkeeper Gavan Miles was big time and our back line did very well in helping us grind out a victory. We dug in and got the result we were looking for, which I’m happy with.”

A senior, Miles had six saves between the posts for the Bulldogs, his first shutout of the season. Sandpoint had 11 shots on the night, just one of which was on goal.

Sandpoint (2-0-1) will travel to Coeur d’Alene on Thursday.

1st half — 1, SPT, Huxley Hall (Luke Leavitt), 9'. 2nd half — None.

Shots on goal: SPT — 1. MOS — 6.

Saves: SPT — Gavan Miles 6. MOS — Wyatt Thornycroft 0.

GIRLS SOCCER

Moscow stuns Sandpoint

Moscow 2, Sandpoint 1

SANDPOINT — Junior Mackenzie Mitchell was able to score during the 27th minute for the Bulldogs, but the visiting Bears responded with two goals in the second half to take a 2-1 victory in a 5A Inland Empire League match held Tuesday at War Memorial Field.

Mitchell, who headed the ball in for the Bulldogs just inches before the goal line, did so on a ball senior Marlee McCrum just happened to kick towards the net — one that bounced high and went over the goalkeepers’ head. Junior Hope Barnes battled it out with a Moscow defender inside, which helped Mitchell score.

The Bears, down but not out, scored during the 43rd minute and again on a penalty kick during the 68th minute to secure the win.

“I just don’t think we came into this game as enthused as Moscow did, ” Sandpoint High head coach Alan Brinkmeier said. “We needed to keep possession and play around them, but I didn’t think we did enough of that to settle our nerves down. I’ll give it to Moscow — that first goal, they countered us and walked it in the back of our net. The second goal was a bit unfortunate with the hand ball.”

Coach Brinkmeier said the Bulldogs (1-1-1), who host Coeur d’Alene on Thursday, are going to need to improve on moving the ball through the midfield and with one-on-one defending going forward.

“We need to be a bit more tenacious around the ball, getting to it first and finishing,” coach Brinkmeier. “We have been having a rough time finding the back of the net.”

1st — 1, SPT, Mackenzie Mitchell (Marlee McCrum), 27'. 2nd half — 2, MOS, Adeline Rainer (Addison Lassen), 43'. 3, MOS, Hazel Stevens, 68'.

Shots on goal: SPT — 7. MOS — 10.

Saves: SPT — Lilliana Brinkmeier 8. MOS — Kyanna Winther 6.

VOLLEYBALL

Wampus Cats fall in straight sets

Wallace 3, Clark Fork 0

WALLACE — Aurora Lane led the Clark Fork attack with four kills, five assists and two aces, but the visiting Wampus Cats fell in straight sets (19-25, 15-25, 18-25) to the host Miners in a 2A Scenic Idaho Conference match Tuesday.

Lane, a junior, also had a team-high 10 digs on the night. Seniors Kayla Swales and Hannah Thompson both had two aces each for Clark Fork. Freshman Keira Gannon added five digs and an ace.

“This marks the end of a hard stretch of road games to open our season,” head coach Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey said. “The girls are keeping their heads held high and their eyes on the next match, which is half the battle. Every game I’m seeing improvement and I hope that stays true when we get to play for our home crowd.”

Clark Fork (0-3) hosts Coeur du Christ Academy on Thursday.

Bulldogs downed by Bears

Moscow 3, Sandpoint 0

MOSCOW — The visiting Bulldogs fell in straight sets (22-25, 16-25, 12-25) to the Bears in a 5A Inland Empire League match held Tuesday at Moscow High.

Junior Gretta Beck came up with a team-high 11 digs as the team's libero and junior Hazel Pierce contributed three blocks and made some great attacking decisions, according to Sandpoint High head coach Piper Wahlin.

Sandpoint (0-4) hosts Coeur d'Alene on Thursday.