It took a 1,000-mile odyssey. But Boise earns another boys soccer state championship.
The Boise High boys soccer team took the long road — literally and figuratively — to its sixth state championship.
The Brave beat Thunder Ridge 5-4 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the 5A state championship Tuesday at Canyon Ridge High in Twin Falls, completing their whirlwind trip around Idaho with the state’s top trophy.
Boise (11-2-0) started the state tournament with a 2-0 win over Post Falls on the Trojans’ home field Thursday. A freak snowstorm then forced the semifinals to Middleton on Monday, where the Brave routed Eagle 5-1.
Boise then completed its more than 1,000-mile odyssey with a trip to Twin Falls, a trip that ended with another championship banner.
“I’m just so happy for the boys because they’ve been such good young men all season and just rolled with the punches,” Boise coach Mike Darrow said. “They could have said many times, ‘Ah, screw this. This is a stupid year.’ But they never did.”
Boise senior captain Jack Goode put the Brave ahead 1-0 in the 12th minute, banging home a pass from Toby Caldara from 8 yards out.
Thunder Ridge (14-3-2) sent the game to overtime, and eventually a shootout, by finding the back of the net in the 64th minute. But all five Boise shooters — Goode, Joe Woodley, Liam McLain, Quinn Nichols and Nick Liebich — converted their spot kicks.
Boise goalkeeper Arthur Langlet made the one save he needed to. Langlet came off the bench in the shootout as Boise’s penalty-kick specialist. And he delivered when the Brave needed him the most, stopping Thunder Ridge’s second shot and giving Boise an early cushion in the shootout.
The state championship caps a dramatic year in the face of a global pandemic. Boise couldn’t host its first practice until after Labor Day. Poor air quality canceled its first two games as wildfires raged around the West. And it lost one game when Borah went into a COVID-19 quarantine.
Boise was the last 5A team in the state to play a game, recording its first official result on Sept. 21. But none of that mattered as Boise hoisted the state championship banner in Twin Falls and mugged for pictures with the trophy.
“It comes from our captains, Nick Liebich and Jack Goode,” Darrow said of Boise’s perseverance. “The guys just rally behind them. They are such good role models and examples.”
Rocky Mountain 3, Eagle 0: After winning the district championship two weeks ago, the Grizzlies added another trophy to their mantle with a victory in the third-place game Tuesday at Middleton High.
Keegan Oyler put Rocky Mountain (13-2-1) ahead 1-0 at halftime. Dalton Bateman then scored a pair of insurance goals in the second half.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 2:28 PM.
