Masters of penalties, and now Idaho. Rocky Mountain completes rare sweep of state soccer titles

One team capped an epic comeback in penalty kicks. Another finished its season-long dominance in a shootout.

No matter how they got there, the results were the same as both the Rocky Mountain High boys and girls soccer teams brought home 5A state championships Saturday from the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex.

The Grizzlies’ girls edged Boise 6-5 on spot kicks after finishing regulation and overtime tied at 3-3 to win the second state title in program history. Then the Rocky Mountain boys followed three hours later with their first state title, beating Timberline 5-3 in a shootout after a 2-2 draw.

The Grizzlies are just the second 5A school to sweep the state soccer titles since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sponsoring the tournament in 2000. Boise also did it in 2013.

“It’s really big, especially when you consider the football team is ranked No. 1,” Rocky Mountain girls soccer coach Donal Kaehler said. “Our boys cross country won district this year too. The athletic program in the fall is definitely doing very well.”

[Related: Valley teams win 4A boys and girls state soccer titles]

Girls mount Hollywood comeback

Perennial power Boise had Rocky Mountain’s number this year. The Braves beat Rocky 4-1 in the regular season, then blanked the Grizzlies 2-0 for the district title last week.

Boise appeared on its way to a blowout Saturday, racing to a 3-0 halftime lead with goals from Mariah Albin, Payton Baratcart and Tara Brennan. But the Grizzlies’ had other ideas.

Tryne Tamminga, Kelsey Oyler and Ainsley Terada all scored in the final 17 minutes to force extra time, including Terada’s equalizer in the 77th minute. Two extra periods couldn’t break the tie, nor could the first five rounds of a shootout.

But sophomore goalkeeper Kasey Wardle dove to her right and punched away a Mariah Albin shot in a sudden-death, shootout round, freeing the Grizzlies’ bench to storm the field.

“I looked at her lineup, and I knew she was a strong player and hits the ball hard,” Wardle said. “I reacted that way and hit it hard as I could away. And just then, the best feeling in the world came over me.”

[Related: Full state soccer brackets and scores]

Wardle admitted deciding a state title in penalty kicks terrified her. But the Utah commit had already saved Rocky Mountain’s state title hopes the previous day. She stopped an awarded penalty kick in the Grizzlies’ 3-2, double-overtime win against Lake City in the semifinals.

Reaching penalties seemed impossible at halftime as the Grizzlies trailed 3-0 to an opponent that had surrendered just nine goals all season. But 40 minutes of desperate attacking gave Rocky Mountain a chance.

“We said, ‘Hey, we have nothing to lose. We’re going to go for it,’” Kaehler said. “Don’t worry about playing a lot of defense. Let’s just throw everything into the attack.”

Since opening in 2008, Rocky Mountain has established itself as one of Idaho’s premier girls soccer programs. It reached the state finals in 2009 and won a title in 2011. But since then, it struggled to hang another banner until Saturday.

“We had pretty high hopes for the program, but it never came,” Kaehler said. “We had a lot of second-place, third-place and consolation finishes. We always seemed to come up short in the state championship, so this was really big for us.”

Rocky Mountain returns loaded next season for a shot at back-to-back titles with just six seniors graduating and the bulk of its offensive talent returning.

Boys complete title sweep

Rocky Mountain coach Bill Taylor drilled a scenario into Kristian Quiros’ head for weeks.

It’s the state championship. You’re the last kicker in a shootout. And you must make it to win a title.

That fantasy became reality Saturday. And Quiros didn’t disappoint, burying his spot kick into the top left corner over diving Timberline goalkeeper Gideon Coprivnicar.

But unlike in practice, Quiros turned around and found a wall of Grizzlies players and coaches barreling toward him to celebrate the program’s first state championship.

“I just broke down — tears, down to the ground. And they just all dog piled on top of me,” Quiros said. “It’s a moment I won’t forget for the rest of my life.”

The championship finishes a title sweep for Rocky Mountain and its 15 seniors. Long a middle-of-the-pack team in the SIC, the Grizzlies won a regular-season league title, the program’s first district crown, their first state title and an academic state championship too.

“I don’t know the last time a team has done that,” Grizzlies coach Bill Taylor said. “But I have to think that’s pretty rare.”

Ethan Bengtzen scored his sixth goal at state to give Rocky Mountain a 1-0 lead, and Quiros converted a penalty in the second half for a 2-1 lead. But Timberline answered each time. Connor Stoddard’s penalty kick in the 52nd minute tied the game at 1-1, and Kyle Wright sent the game into overtime with a 40-yard strike from the sideline in the 71st minute.

But Rocky Mountain went 5-for-5 in the shootout with Bengtzen, Brandon Poole, Kyle Jones, Noah Shoemake and Quiros all converting. Goalkeeper Jonah Peterson made the only stop he needed to, stone walling Stoddard in the second round.

“This is a special team,” Taylor said. “I’ve coached a long time. This has been one of the most special experiences I’ve had as a coach. … To share this experience with these boys, these memories will solidify our relationships for a lifetime.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 11:56 PM.