PKs unkind to Pullman this time

There could be many reasons why the Pullman boys' soccer team seems averse to having a match end in regulation, but, at the moment, coach Doug Winchell can't figure it out.

For the fourth time in five games - and the second game in as many days - the Greyhounds needed more than 80 minutes to reach a final result. After battling through two scoreless halves and two goal-less overtime periods, Pullman was outdone by Cheney in penalty kicks, 4-3, in a windy, partially rainy 2A Great Northern League opener Saturday evening at Washington State's Valley Road Playfields.

The loss came just 24 hours after Pullman (2-3, 0-1) bested Shadle Park in a shootout Friday night.

"Apparently we're the overtime team," Winchell said Saturday. "Why that is, I'm not really sure."

Perhaps fatigue played a role. This was Pullman's fifth game in eight days, which includes a pair of back-to-back matches.

"We've left a lot of goals on the table over the course of those five games," Winchell said. "We probably need a few kids out there with a little rest. We played five games in the same amount of time that they played three. I think there was a little lack of freshness on our part."

(It should be noted that one of Cheney's games during that time period was postponed due to poor weather conditions.)

The back-line tandem of Tyler Chapman and Jared Holstad looked plenty fresh, though. The two Pullman defenders practically built a wall in front of goalkeeper Graham Laird, who had himself a decent day in the net, until the shootout came around.

"He (Holstad) is a dang good player," Cheney coach Morgan Hartanov said. "It's never easy trying to break that guy down. He's big and fast. He runs down some of the guys on our team who I thought were fast, but that kid is impressive, to say the least."

Cheney (2-0) connected on three of its first four penalty kicks, setting up a crucial shot for Holstad. The junior rifled the ball past Cheney goalkeeper Dalton Mauzay, then Laird denied Adam Deutsch, allowing Pullman a chance to retake control.

But Jed Byers had his shot rejected, and Cheney snuck its next kick past Laird into the back right corner of the net to end the game.

"It's always good getting your first PK shootout win against a GNL (opponent)," Hartanov said, "and it's always good to win, for sure."

Both coaches lamented their teams' missed opportunities as much as they credited the opposition's defensive effort. And they're both right, for the most part.

Pullman needed back-to-back diving saves from Laird in overtime, and if not for a stop by Chapman, who raced over and deflected a shot that was a few feet away from rolling into the net in the second half, the Blackhawks would have ended the game in regulation.

"Thank you, Tyler," Winchell said, laughing half-heartedly.

The Hounds also had a sequence in the first half in which they earned four consecutive corner kicks, though none of them resulted in a quality look at the net. Jed Byers also had a cross whiz by Sam Tingstad, and had he been able to control it, the freshman forward probably would have scored just before the end of regulation.

"We're going to have to score goals. Someone our team is going to have to step up," Winchell said. "I think we're doing enough in the back, most of the time, to hold people off. They're a competitive team and they definitely have some skill, but they didn't score.

"I think we'll be OK in the back, we just have to find a way to create some scoring opportunities and actually put them away."

Cheney 0 0-0

Pullman 0 0-0

Shots - Pullman 2, Cheney 5.

Saves - Pullman: Laird 5, Cheney: Dalton Mauzay 2.

Michael-Shawn Dugar can be reached at (208) 883-4627, by email to mdugar@dnews.com or on Twitter to @MikeDugar.