Bulldogs dominate Big Cats again, but there’s a twist

MEAD – The Bulldogs defeated Mead for the second time this season on Wednesday, April 12 at Mead High School.

Even though Sandpoint was dominant in the 15-7 victory, it would be remiss not to mention that Mead was down several players at the start of the game. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, the Bulldogs volunteered a couple of players to fill out the Big Cats roster.

“Tess Sloan played an awesome game as a stand-in Big Cat, scoring three goals, winning three draw possessions and recording three ground balls against ‘us.’ Tess’s sister, Eva, is our goalie, so this made for some interesting competition,” Dooley said. “We missed her on our side of the field but it was great to see her play such an excellent game.”

Due to the complex nature of the game, the Bulldogs needed to make some roster adjustments. It also didn’t help that one of Sandpoint's strongest defensive players, senior Bella Baker, badly sprained her ankle in practice the day before.

“We hate to have Bella on the sidelines as she is a tough player and a great leader on our team," said Dooley. “Luckily, we have a good-sized bench to pull from this year. We are able to continue to rely on the steadfast defensive play of senior Kennedy Phillips and the exciting and aggressive play of newcomers Cecilia Dignan and Maddie Mitchell.”

Sharing players with the opposing team was not the only first for the Bulldogs; it was also the first time the Bulldogs had played on a grass field. Because of this, ground balls and bounce shots were a bit more problematic. However, The Bulldogs quickly adjusted and were able to find relatively easy scoring opportunities on offense.

“Our offense is really starting to click," said assistant coach Bill Aitken. “We had 10 assists on 15 goals – and when you factor in that several of our goals were direct shots, that is really an impressive statistic.”

Sandpoint’s success in this game was due in part to the fact that the Bulldogs were able to maintain possession of the ball throughout the game and won a vast majority of the draws.

“Terra Bode continues to have phenomenal success as a draw specialist. She either flips it to herself or sends it directly to one of our midfielders on the starting circle,” Aitken said.

At halftime, Sandpoint was up 9-3 and had no trouble cruising to a 15-7 victory.

Alexis Downs led the Bulldogs with five goals, Rowan Davis chipped in four goals, Cassidy Aitken scored two goals and contributed four assists. Terra Bode, Kayla Beers, Kennedy Phillips and Emory Feyen all scored one goal each.

Laura Boge stepped up at midfield from her normal defensive position and earned one assist and two draw controls. Julia Dismore, a first-time player, earned one assist and helped tremendously in setting up the Bulldogs’ offensive scheme.

In addition, Dooley said Eva Sloan’s presence in the net has benefited Sandpoint in a big way this season.

“Eva is one of our toughest players – she never backs down and really gives it her all every game,” she added.

The Bulldogs (3-1) will face stiff competition in their next game against the Spokane Stealth (4-0) on Monday, April 17 at 6 p.m. at War Memorial Field.

SANDPOINT 15, MEAD 7

GOALS: SPT – Downs 5, Davis 4, Aitken 2, Beers, Bode, Feyen, Phillips. MEAD – Saguid 3, (Sloan 3), Weiland.

ASSISTS: SPT – Aitken 4, Gavin 2, Dismore, Davis, Boge, Bode. MEAD – Cummins, (Sloan).

GBALLS: SPT – Gavin 2, Downs 2, Davis 2, Mitchell, Boge, Bode, Alexander, Aitken. MEAD – Weiland 7, (Sloan 3), Saguid 2, Marek 2.

DRAWS: SPT – Davis 7, Gavin 3, Boge 2, Bode 2, Dignan. MEAD – (Sloan 3), Lindor 2, Saguid 2, Weiland.

SV: SPT – Sloan 4. MEAD – Bell 10, Brown 4.