Shadow Players Honored for Successful HS Seasons

Monday, December 30, 2024

Another exciting fall high school soccer season is in the books. As usual a lot of players from the club excelled with their classmates on the pitch with award-winning campaigns or runs into the postseason.

We kick things off with the GSL 3A/4A, where quite a few individuals were recognized this season for their performances, including Offensive MVP Jennah Wanner and Coach of the Year Mike Pellicio.

Wanner for finishing atop the scoring tables for points and goals in GSL 3A/4A League with 31 points and 13 goals. She also tallied five assists on the campaign. Her efforts helped lead the Bullpups to a share of the GSL title with Mt Spokane as they finished 6-1-2 (22 pts). She went on to add four more goals to her ledger in the district playoffs and has already made the move to Wyoming with early enrollment.

Pellicio guided the Wildcats to a share of the regular season championship with an unbeaten record in regulation play (6-0-3, 22 pts), dropping points solely in shootouts. The Wildcats ended up being unbeaten in regulation through league, districts and the state tourney prior to a 1-0 loss in the semifinal. Defensively they allowed just 11 goals in the league and were second in scoring.

The awards honors continue with the GSL 3A/4A All-League First Team.

Senior goalkeeper Myann Johansen finished with the most minutes played this season and a GAS of 1.50 as Ferris went 4-4-1 (14 pts). She posted two shutouts during the regular season.

Senior Defender Sarah Gunn helped lead Gonzaga Prep to a share of the GSL title with a record of 6-1-2 (22 pts). The Bullpups allowed just 11 goals on the season. Gunn also provided a goal and assist for the regular season.

At midfield were Ridgeline junior Quinn Mueller and Mt Spokane sophomore Avery Davidson.

Mueller finished near the top of the league for the season in scoring with 15 points (tied fourth) and seven goals (fourth) as the squad went 6-1-2 (20 pts) on the season and allowed just nine goals. She added a goal and two assists as they won the 4A District title in the postseason with a pair of shutout wins and a shootout win at Mt Spokane; and advanced to the second round of the state tournament, tallying a goal in their first round win.

Davidson finished the regular season for co-champion Mt Spokane (6-0-3, 22 pts), which were unbeaten in regulation in league, districts and state tourney prior to a 1-0 loss in the semifinal. She tallied four goals (tied 13th) and three assists (tied 10th) for 11 points (tied 11th) on the campaign. Defensively they allowed just 11 goals in the league. In the postseason she had an assist in the districts but got hot in the opening stages of state, tallying the equalizer in a 2-1 comeback win in round one and a goal and assist in the 2-0 second round victory.

Rounding things out at forward was junior Keegan Tee of third place Lewis & Clark (6-1-2, 21 pts). She finished tied for sixth in the league on points (14) from five goals (tied 7th) and four assists (tied 7th). In the playoffs she led the Tigers to wins in their first two district games with a goal and assist in each.

More players were recognized as GSL 3A/4A All-League Second Team selections.

Helping lead the way for the league’s top defensive unit was junior Piper Antoniuk. The LC Tigers gave up just eight goals in their nine league games in a four-way race for the league title that was decided by just two points. LC finished third a point back of the co-champs with a record of 6-1-2 (W-L-D, they split their shootouts). Five of their six wins were shutouts.

Also honored on the Second Team was the Ferris senior duo of Alaina Asan and Sylvie Washington. Aligned as the central pairing at defense and midfield, respectively, they helped lead the Saxons to the postseason with a record of 4-4-1. The side was a difficult matchup for many teams and took unbeaten Mt Spokane to a shootout to claim a win via tiebreakers. Washington also contributed a goal and an assist during the season.

The Saxons went on in the postseason to cause trouble, giving MCC co-champion Chiawana a tough time in a 2-1 loss in which Asan scored to give the Riverhawks a scare. They then rolled to a 4-1 win over Hanford with Washington tallying a pair in that contest.

And additional players received GSL 3A/4A All-League Honorable Mention selections. Ten players from the club were recognized on the list.

Chloe Ahumada (M, Ferris, Jr)
Sami Asan (D, Ferris, So)
Avery Bringhurst (F, CV, Sr)
Kinley Collins (M, Cheney, So)
Nora Cullen (D, Mead, Jr)
Kyrie Hertz (M, Ferris, Jr)
Grace Hughes (F, Mt Spokane, Fr)
Addy Nordean (M, University, Sr)
Aliana Vakaloloma (G, Ridgeline, So)
Rylee Vanos (F, Mead, Jr)

Heading into the GSL 2A, the dominant West Valley squad that rolled their way through the league, districts, crossovers and first two rounds of State en route to finishing third this season after a shootout loss in the 0-0 semifinal was full of honorees.

Leading the WV award winners was Defensive MVP Ashlyn Chase, who anchored the back line all season for a defense that allowed just three goals during the season and later just one through district and state playoffs. Goalkeeper Karlee Roderick and her sister Aubree (defender) were also a part of that effort, earning All-League Second Team recognition. At the attacking end Lauren Matthew (wing) and Chloe Van Wey (midfield) were recognized on the All-League First Team. The Eagles scored 98 goals in just 12 games this season. They went on to tally 36 more in seven postseason matches, including three goals from Matthew and one from Van Wey. Matthew went on to tally seven goals and three assists in the playoffs with Van Wey providing three goals and five assists.

After three years as a First Team selection Rebecca Skinner was named Offensive MVP. She finished her Clarkston career with 123 goals overall.

In the Northeast A League Kate Luther was recognized at midfield on the All-League Team. She helped guide Lakeside to the league title with a perfect record and the Eagles moved onto State with 2-0 road win against Cascade (Leavenworth) in the crossover.

At the B classification we kick things off with dual-sport standout Savvy Briceno, who participated in cross country as well as with the St George’s Boys side as the school did not field a girls team this season. The EWU-bound senior was named co-MVP in the East Cascade League as SGS finished second in the primarily central Washington comprised league. She and fellow club player Graham Reichel were honored on the All-ECL First Team. The 9-3-0 Dragons went on to finish second in districts for a state berth, falling out of the tourney via shootout after a 4-4 draw in the opening round.

In cross country Savvy also performed well. At the State Meet she finished 22nd overall, which helped her team (led by the first and second-place finishers) grab a Third Place finish on the podium.

And last, but not least across the state line a big congrats goes out to Lilliana Brinkmeier and Treffen McCord for league MVP honors.

Brinkmeier earned her second IEL MVP honor. The senior goalkeeper – previously honored with the award two years ago – was a key player for Sandpoint this season and went on to help guide them to a runners-up finish in the 5A State Tournament that included a 1-0 overtime shutout win, a 1-1 shootout victory in the semifinal and a narrow 1-0 defeat in the Final! The team finished the year 10-6-3 overall with nine shutouts.

McCord was named Intermountain League co-Most Valuable Player after a dominant 14–0-2 unbeaten campaign prior to a runners-up finish in the state tournament. Prior to the tourney they outscored the opposition 70-3 and the reached the state final with a pair of shutouts before falling 1-0 to the top seed.

*All GSL scoring stats are unofficial as tabulated by INWsoccernews.