Valley of champions? 11 Treasure Valley teams open state soccer tournaments with a win

Treasure Valley soccer teams dominated the first day of the state tournaments all across Idaho, advancing 11 teams into the state semifinals in Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

All four boys teams from the 5A Southern Idaho Conference won Thursday, setting up an exact rematch of the district semifinals in the state semifinals Friday at the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex. Rocky Mountain (14-2-1) will face Borah (9-6-3) and Boise (17-2-1) will battle Timberline (13-5-2), both at 2 p.m.

Three girls soccer teams from the 5A SIC advanced to the semifinals. Boise (17-3-0) takes on Timberline (11-5-4) and Rocky Mountain (13-3-2) faces Lake City (14-2-0), both at 2 p.m.

The Bishop Kelly girls also advanced in 4A, and the 4A SIC boys soccer teams (Middleton, Vallivue and Caldwell) went 3-0 in the first round.

[Related: Full boys and girls soccer state tournament brackets]

5A GIRLS

BOISE 1, BORAH 0 (2OT): Perennial power Boise had to sweat out its first-round game before finally breaking through in the 97th minute.

Freshman Logan Smith broke down the right wing and played a cross into the 6-yard box to Audrey Sand. A Borah defender blocked the first shot, but Sand pounced on the rebound for her seventh goal of the season.

“The ball was sitting right there and she tapped it in, much to our relief,” Boise coach Chris Siegenthaler said.

Boise faces Timberline for the third time this season in the semifinals. The 5A SIC regular-season and district champ beat the Wolves 2-1 and 2-0 earlier this year.

The Braves missed the state tournament last year and went two-and-out in 2016, making Thursday’s win the first at state for anyone on the team.

“They were frustrated and they were stressing,” Siegenthaler said of his team. “But they fought through that, and in the overtime, we were much better and responded well.”

TIMBERLINE 3, MADISON 2 (2OT): Freshman Chloe Bowes headed in a cross from Aidan Borders for a golden goal that sent the Wolves into the semifinals. Bowes started the season on the junior varsity team before getting called up to varsity toward the end of the regular season for district and state.

Timberline built a 2-0 lead in the second half with goals from Hailey Apple and Borders. But Madison scored twice in the final four minutes to force overtime.

“We don’t do anything easily, apparently,” Timberline coach Ross Schultz joked.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 2, HIGHLAND 0: Kelsey Oyler scored in the 30th minute, and then she set up Jordyn Dalling’s goal in the 47th minute to lead the Grizzlies into the semifinals for the third straight year.

Kasey Wardle stopped three shots to post a shutout.

LAKE CITY 3, EAGLE 1: The Mustangs (10-8-0) fell into the consolation bracket, where they face Highland (13-5-1) at 11 a.m. Friday. No details were reported.

4A GIRLS

BISHOP KELLY 6, PRESTON 0: Sophomore Mia Cartwright notched a hat trick as the Knights (20-0-0) won their 62nd straight game and advanced to the semifinals for the ninth straight year.

Lauren Elwer, Evelyn Elwer and Jacoba Luteyn also scored for Bishop Kelly, which faces Twin Falls (18-1-0) at 3 p.m. MT Friday at Lake City High.

TWIN FALLS 1, MIDDLETON 1 (Twin Falls 4-2 on PKs): Abby Furrow buried a 20-yard free kick into the upper corner in the final minutes to force overtime, but the Vikings (12-8-2) lost in a shootout. They face Preston (13-6-2) at 12:30 p.m. MT Friday at Coeur d’Alene High in the consolation bracket.

SANDPOINT 4, VALLIVUE 0: The Falcons (12-7-1) were blanked by North Idaho power Sandpoint. They face Century (13-5-0) at 10 a.m. MT Friday at Lake City High in a loser-out game.

3A GIRLS

SUGAR-SALEM 2, WEISER 1: The Wolverines (11-5-3) dropped their state opener. Weiser faces Timberlake (11-6-1) in the consolation bracket at 11 a.m. Friday at the Twin Falls Soccer Complex.

5A BOYS

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 5, COEUR D’ALENE 2: The Grizzlies showcased their three-headed attack to build a 3-0 halftime lead and rout Coeur d’Alene.

Ethan Bengtzen netted a hat trick, Kristian Quiros scored twice and had an assist, and Kyle Jones finished with two assists. Isaac Szuch also recorded an assist.

BORAH 2, THUNDER RIDGE 0: Dominic Ishimwe opened the scoring in the seventh minute with an assist from Carlos Camacho, then added a 35-yard, left-footed screamer in the 14th minute off an Isidor Orozco pass.

Eli Marler made three saves to set up the Lions’ fourth meeting with Rocky Mountain in the state semifinals. The season series sit tied at 1-1-1 with Rocky Mountain winning the most recent meeting in the district semifinals.

BOISE 1, LAKE CITY 0: The Braves spoiled Lake City’s perfect record entering state. Carter Luthy scored on an assist from Carson Cadwell in the 15th minute, and Boise’s defense took over from there, snuffing out any Lake City (14-1-0) threats.

Griffin Gettman made four saves to preserve the shutout.

TIMBERLINE 4, RIGBY 0: Orion Morgan, Nathan Ashworth, Kyle Wright and Wally Sosa all scored as Timberline returned to the semifinals after a two-year absence.

The Wolves take on Boise for a spot in the state championship after upsetting the Braves 2-1 in the district semifinals.

4A BOYS

VALLIVUE 3, CENTURY 2 (OT): The Falcons pulled off the upset of the tournament, handing Century (14-1-3) its first loss of the season and advancing to the state semifinals for the first time since 2003.

Vallivue (15-5-2) faces SIC rival Caldwell for a spot in the state championship game at 3 p.m. MT Friday at Post Falls.

The Falcons trailed 2-0 with 12 minutes left in regulation before sophomore Juan Osuna and senior Giovanni Ramirez scored to force overtime. Two minutes into the extra period, Osuna ran down a through ball from Adam Flores and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one to clinch the historic comeback win.

“We just kept reminding them we had enough time on the clock to work with to come back,” Vallivue coach Christian Adamson said. “We had dominated the game as far as possession. I think it was our best game of the year. They played with so much aggression and heart.”

CALDWELL 3, WOOD RIVER 0: The Cougars (18-0-2) avenged a loss to Wood River in last year’s state championship game.

Jesus Gonzalez opened the scoring in the 18th minute before brothers Damian Arguello (22nd minute) and Adrian Arguello (55th minute) added insurance goals. Goalkeeper Jevon Devante Olvera stopped five shots for the shutout.

MIDDLETON 2, MOSCOW 0: Daxton Wyatt headed home a cross from Antonio Rossi, then Rossi buried a goal of his own from outside the 18-yard box to lead the Vikings to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.

Caden Lohrengel had four saves to preserve the clean sheet for Middleton (16-3-1), which faces Hillcrest (15-1-3) at 12:30 p.m. MT Friday at Post Falls High.

3A BOYS

BONNERS FERRY 1, MCCALL-DONNELLY 0: The Vandals (6-12-1) and their Cinderella hit a roadblock. After finishing last in the 3A SRV and winning the district tournament, McCall faces American Falls (10-5-1) at 11 a.m. Friday in Twin Falls in the consolation bracket.

This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 6:29 PM.