61 straight wins and counting. Can Idaho’s most dominating team win another state title?

The state soccer tournaments kick off Thursday in Idaho Falls (5A), Coeur d’Alene (4A) and Twin Falls (3A).

Nine girls teams from the Treasure Valley will vie for a state title along with eight boys teams. Below are some of the top stories to watch this week.

[Related: Full brackets for state soccer tournaments]

BK chasing third straight state title

Coaches set targets of conference, district and state titles before the season, knowing perfection is too much to ask for. But not for the Bishop Kelly girls soccer team.

The Knights (19-0-0) enter the 4A state tournament riding a 61-game winning streak. You read that right — 61 straight wins.

Not that the Knights would know. Bishop Kelly coach Meagan Lyons said she’s addressed the winning streak only once with her team when news reports started counting off the numbers midway through the season.

She reminded the Knights none of those wins carry over to today, tomorrow or the next day. And it hasn’t come up since.

“We don’t talk about it,” Lyons said. “Honestly, we wouldn’t know how many games it was if the paper didn’t post it.”

But the streak remains so astounding, it bears detailing. Since dropping two season-opening games against 5A opponents to start the 2016 season, the Knights won 20 straight games to win a state title, then hired Lyons and went 22-0-0 last year to repeat.

Bishop Kelly hasn’t lost a game with Lyons on the sideline, going 41-0-0 so far.

The Knights only stepped up their domination this season, rolling to the 4A Southern Idaho Conference title and their 10th straight district championship. Bishop Kelly has outscored opponents 131-13 this season.

The team had only — “only” being relative here — a goal differential of 96 in 2017 and 103 in 2016.

But this isn’t the first time the Knights have built a juggernaut on Franklin Road. Bishop Kelly won three straight titles from 2010 to 2012 and went 88-0-1 until falling to Sandpoint in the 2013 state championship game.

Sandpoint (10-3-1) looms on the opposite side of the bracket as another championship spoiler this fall. Bishop Kelly opens the state tournament against Preston (13-5-2) at 3 p.m. MT Thursday at Lake City, and would face either Twin Falls (17-1-0) or conference foe Middleton (12-7-2) in the semifinals Friday.

One constant during the current winning streak is the Elwer triplets. Evelyn, Grace and Lauren Elwer helped the Knights to the 2016 state title as sophomores, and now they look to add a third this fall as the spine of BK’s formation. Evelyn plays center back, Grace center midfield and Lauren striker.

Lauren Elwer has verbally committed to Gonzaga and remains one of the state’s most dangerous scorers. The reigning 4A state player of the year has poured in 45 goals this year, giving her 131 since joining the team as a sophomore.

“When you watch her play sometimes, it just looks effortless,” Lyons said. “We joke that when she’s running, it looks like she’s gliding. She’s very composed and calm. She doesn’t let a stumble fluster her.”

But opponents can’t just zone in on her. The Knights feature weapons and Division I talent all over the field, including senior Tatum Seastrand and sophomore Alicia Chatterton, who are both committed to Boise State.

Junior Sydney Cromwell has scored 16 goals to go along with 18 assists. Sophomore Alexis Pond is also a threat with 14 goals, and sophomores Mia Cartwright, Evelyn Elwer and Seastrand have all found the back of the net nine times.

“We have some people who can finish all across the board, which, in the end, makes a difference,” Lyons said.

Boise girls eye return to glory

Boise stands as the premier 5A girls soccer program in the state, with six titles since the state activities association began sponsoring the tournament in 2000. But the Braves (16-3-0) enter the tournament this year untested after failing to make it last year and going two-and-out in 2016.

“We haven’t won a game at state before with this team,” Boise coach Chris Siegenthaler said. “That’s our goal. Then, go from there and move on.”

The Braves proved themselves as the 5A SIC’s top team during both the regular season and district tournament, surrendering just nine goals in 19 games. Only Lake City (12 goals allowed in 15 games) can claim a defense anywhere near as stout.

Boise would make history with a state title. No 5A SIC girls soccer team has won a conference, district and state title in the same season. Centennial broke “The Curse” by winning the district and state titles last season. But the Patriots took the second seed into the district tournament on a tiebreaker.

How far can Timberline go without scoring?

Timberline qualified for the 5A girls state tournament without scoring a single goal at district.

How is that possible? After a first-round loss to Eagle, the Wolves (10-5-4) beat Mountain View and Centennial on penalty kicks after scoreless regulations and overtimes in both games to take the SIC’s fourth seed at state.

But it’s not as if Timberline sits back in a defensive shell. The Wolves scored 44 goals this fall and field the 5A SIC’s leading goal scorer in Ava Ranson (17 goals).

Who will carry on the 5A SIC title streak?

The Boise region has dominated the 5A boys state tournament, winning the past five championships and 16 of 18 since 2000. The Southern Idaho Conference sends four teams to state this year, each with the tools to mount a title run.

Defending state champion Borah (8-6-3) had to fight its way back to state, but the Lions still can count on the state’s reigning player of the year in Ahmed Ibrahimovic (18 goals).

Boise (16-2-1) finished the regular season as the state’s No. 1-ranked team in the final coaches’ poll. But it fell to Timberline in the district semifinals, forcing the Braves into a first-round matchup with undefeated Lake City (14-0-0).

Timberline (12-5-2) has proved it has the defensive discipline and depth to play with anyone.

And Rocky Mountain (13-2-1), the regular season and district champ, features a three-headed attack led by Ethan Bengtzen (19 goals), Kristian Quiros (15 goals) and Kyle Jones (10 goals).

Can Caldwell finally break through?

The Caldwell boys have reached the 4A state semifinals the past three years and finished second last year. The Cougars (17-0-2) return perhaps their most talented squad to gun for the program’s first state title since 1996. But they’ll have to navigate a tough draw just to reach the finals.

Caldwell opens with Wood River (15-1-2) in a rematch of last year’s state title game. Then it would potentially face Century (14-0-3) in the semifinals. Caldwell finished first in the final coaches’ poll, with Wood River second and Century third.

“If we are able to take it this year, we’ll have to take the hard road to get there,” Caldwell coach Rhys Yeakley said. “But we’re excited to do it.”

The Cougars can turn to three potent scorers to keep defenses honest in Damian Arguello, Adrian Arguello and Jesus Gonzalez. The three enter state with 20 goals apiece.

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 1:33 PM.