Logan garners MVP honors on All-IEL soccer team
SANDPOINT — Junior Joab Logan was named Most Valuable Player, headlining an impressive list of Bulldogs named to the 4A All-Inland Empire League boys soccer team, as voted on by the league’s coaches.
Five players from the state champion Bulldogs were named to the team, led by Logan, who finished with 11 goals and four assists. His move up into the attack coincided with the Bulldogs’ impressive late season run.
Senior Anthony Fox, who stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high 15 goals and seven assists, was named the Offensive Player of the Year.
State tournament force Jeremiah Gagnon, a silky junior forward, earned a spot on the team after posting 14 goals and seven assists. He teamed with Logan and Fox to create a three-pronged offensive threat in the Bulldogs’ formidable attack.
Senior defender Jeffrey Rokstad, whose blazing speed and quickness shut down a ton of long balls on the season, and senior Raleigh Hanson, whose speed was a weapon on the offensive end, also earned spots on the team.
Sandpoint head coach Adam Tajan on what each player did to earn all-league honors:
n Logan — “Joab is an absolute workhorse. He’s extremely strong and very difficult to defend. He’s also a relentless defender and very difficult to beat 1v1. I’ve seen Joab play injured and sick. He never quits working and won’t stop until the final whistle sounds.”
n Gagnon — “Jeremiah is our smoothest and most crafty player. He moves well in tight spaces and is extremely dangerous when he has room to move and create. As the season progressed Jeremiah became a threat from anywhere on the field. By the end of the season he was scoring from the run of play, off corner kick set plays and from free kicks outside the 18. He lit it up in the state tourney.”
n Rokstad — “Jeffrey made the move from attacking mid to center back this spring and fall. His speed is priceless in the back and all season he kept our back line organized and compact. His leadership, especially in the state tournament, was exactly what a coach expects for a senior captain.”
n Hanson — “Raleigh is an excellent 1v1 attacker. If you give him some space to run, he can’t be stopped. He’s very dangerous on the dribble and was a handful for the opposition in every game.”
n Fox — “Anthony caught fire this season. His movement off the ball was excellent and once he started scoring his confidence went through the roof. He delivered in big games when we needed him and was a go-to guy all season long.”
4A All-Inland Empire League boys soccer team
Most Valuable Player — Joab Logan, jr., Sandpoint.
Newcomer of the Year — Alec Martin, so., Moscow.
Coach of the Year — Andrew Craig, Lakeland.
Goalkeeper of the Year — Cade Coffey, so., Lakeland.
Offensive Player of the Year — Anthony Fox, sr., Sandpoint.
Defensive Player of the Year — Chase Baune, sr., Moscow.
SANDPOINT — Jeremiah Gagnon, jr., Jeffrey Rokstad, sr., Raleigh Hanson, sr. LAKELAND — Alex Opland, sr., Tanner Beadles, sr., Paul Feusier, sr. MOSCOW — Jhovi Batican, sr., Kade Bice, sr.