BK started the year in quarantine. The Knights end it with another district title.
Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop the Bishop Kelly High School girls soccer team’s dominant run through the Treasure Valley.
The Knights cruised through the regular season with a perfect record. And they rolled again Thursday, routing Columbia 7-1 to win the 4A District Three Tournament title for the 12th straight year.
Extending that championship streak was anything but assured this year. The Knights entered a COVID-19 quarantine right as tryouts concluded in August, and they only emerged in time to get four practices in before their first game Sept. 15 in a season shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We went through a lot,” Bishop Kelly junior Izzy Perez said. “… It was frustrating. But I think that also makes us stronger.”
Bishop Kelly (10-0-0) wasted little time flexing that strength Thursday at Ridgevue High. Columbia (7-2-0) pressed its defensive line high up the field, trying to squeeze the space in the midfield and lay offside traps for the Knights’ speedy attacking options.
But Bishop Kelly timed its runs and blazed by Wildcat defenders, shredding the trap over and over again.
Freshman Sophie Schmautz got the party started with a run down the right side for the opening goal in the 2nd minute. Schmautz added another in the 14th minute. The Knights scored twice in the 16th minute and then again in the 24th minute to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
Schmautz and Perez both finished with a hat trick. And Boise State commit Ali Chatterton also scored as the Knights set new records for even their decorated program.
Since soccer became an official, state-sponsored sport, Bishop Kelly had never scored more than five goals in a district final until Thursday. It also had never won a district championship game by more than four goals until Thursday.
But most importantly, Bishop Kelly added another title to an already crowded trophy case.
“It’s just part of leaving a legacy every year, and teaching the girls to leave it better than you found it,” Bishop Kelly coach Meagan Lyons said of the Knights’ 12-year run.
Both teams already qualified for the 4A state tournament entering Thursday. Columbia will face Skyline (9-4-2) in the first round at 3 p.m. Oct. 22 at Hillcrest High in East Idaho. Its second-place finish at district is a program best.
Bishop Kelly opens on the other side of the bracket against the yet-to-be-determined champion from District Four at 9 a.m. Oct. 22.
The Knights saw their chance at four straight state titles dashed last season in a semifinal shootout that took 13 rounds. So Chatterton said they are looking to make up for that heartbreak with another state banner this year.
“We’re looking to win,” Chatterton said. “We are super excited about it. We all really, really want to win this year.”
Bishop Kelly boys soccer rallies for district title
Caldwell scored what looked like the title-clinching goal to break a scoreless tie in the 74th minute. But Bishop Kelly rallied with two goals in the final 6 minutes for a 2-1 victory in the 4A District Three boys soccer final.
Gabe Clement netted the equalizer when he got onto the end of a long free kick from Nic Traugher in the 76th minute. Jake Dahl then scored the winner with 24 seconds left, finding the back of the net amid a scramble in the 18-yard box.
Bishop Kelly coach Jared Vreeland said he was still asking himself how the Knights made the last-minute rally Thursday night.
“They showed they are going to compete. They are willing to compete,” Vreeland said. “When the bear gets you, they’re willing to fight back.”
Bishop Kelly’s girls soccer team remains one of the state’s most decorated programs. But titles for the boys are more rare. Thursday is Bishop Kelly’s first since 2010 and second since Idaho started officially sponsoring soccer in 2000.
Bishop Kelly finished last season 2-13-3 and went two-and-out at the district tournament. But it will enter next week’s 4A state tournament as the SIC’s top seed with a perfect record of 10-0-0.
“This team has been the one set to put the program back on the map and raise the bar for us,” Vreeland. “To accomplish that a year before we thought they would is a huge accomplishment for us.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 9:11 PM.
