Dynamic duo carried Rocky Mountain all year, and led it to a district title Wednesday
Like clockwork, Nadia Kincaid and Kaitlyn Slocum find the back of the net, night in and night out.
At least one, if not both, of the forwards has scored in every game for the Rocky Mountain girls soccer team this year. And the two paired up again to carry the Grizzlies to the 5A District Three Tournament championship Wednesday.
Kincaid scored twice in the second half, tapping in goals on a pair of assists from Slocum, to lead Rocky Mountain (18-1-0) to a 2-1 victory over Timberline on a chilly night at Centennial High.
“Nadia and Kaitlyn are just unbelievable,” Rocky Mountain coach Donal Kaehler said. “They just know where each other is all the time.”
Kincaid, a Boise State commit, leads the 5A Southern Idaho Conference in scoring, and Slocum ranks second. After a frustrating first half that saw Rocky Mountain dominate the scoring chances but fail to put one away, the two took over the final 40 minutes.
Kincaid struck first in the 43rd minute, one-timing a cross from Slocum out of the air inside the 6-yard box with a defender hanging all over her back.
Kincaid’s goal in the 76th minute — at the time an insurance score, but it proved to be the game-winner — saw a longer buildup. Tryne Tamminga sprung Slocum down the right wing and pried open the Timberline defense with a diagonal cross. Slocum then sent a cross right back where it came from, and Kincaid sliced through a scramble at the far post to tap it in.
“Nadia and I, we just have such a good connection up top,” Slocum said. “We’ve just been working on watching where we all move, and I just know she’s going to be there if I played that ball.”
Kincaid’s second goal proved crucial when Timberline’s Afton Rasco struck off a corner kick in the 79th minute. But it was too little, too late for the Wolves (13-4-1).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN THE FAVORITE AT STATE
The Grizzlies made history last year by winning a third straight state title, the first for any 5A boys or girls soccer team since Idaho started sponsoring an official state tournament. But Wednesday marked just the third district championship in program history.
Even with eight returning starters, Rocky Mountain found itself picked a distant second behind Boise in a preseason 5A SIC coaches’ poll. But after a season-opening loss to Lone Peak, Utah, the Grizzlies have rattled off 18 straight wins, outscoring opponents 82-5.
Kaehler said he’s most impressed with those five goals allowed. Rocky Mountain graduated two Division I goalkeepers and its two center backs last season. But a new crew has more than filled those shoes.
“At the beginning of the year, I don’t think too many people gave us a chance,” Kaehler said. “I think everyone concentrated on Boise, and that’s fine. I pretty much agreed with that.
“Boise probably was stronger at the beginning. But the way this team has come up, and the way they’ve been playing together, that’s pretty impressive.”
STATE TOURNAMENT SEEDS NOT SET YET
First-round matchups for next week’s state tournament, which Rocky Mountain hosts, will not be available until Saturday.
Idaho will seed its state tournaments for the first time this year via MaxPreps computer rankings. Teams still need to qualify for state via their district tournament, but the rankings were locked at the end of the regular season. District tournament games do not positively, or negatively, affect them.
Rocky Mountain finished the regular season as the state’s No. 2-ranked team behind Highland, which can’t clinch its state berth until Thursday evening.
Timberline finished as the No. 5 team. No. 3 Boise (14-3-1) and No. 8 Centennial (11-7-1) have also clinched state tournament berths from the Boise region.
- EAGLE 4, MOUNTAIN VIEW 0: Casey Southard made eight saves to post a shutout, and Grace Nelson, Emily Houck, Maomi Hilbig and Kayla Wallace all scored as the Mustangs (11-7-2) won the district tournament fifth-place game. The win sends Eagle to the state play-in game, where it will face Coeur d’Alene (7-10-0) at 2 p.m. Mountain time Saturday in Lewiston.
BOISE WINS BOYS DISTRICT TITLE
The Brave (12-2-4) knocked Timberline (15-1-2) from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 1-0 victory in overtime for the 5A District Three Tournament championship.
Joe Woodley scored the golden goal in the 87th minute, flicking in a deep throw-in from Chase Kluksdal. Backup goalkeeper Hugo Cabrera-Gutierrez posted the shutout while filling in for injured starter Arthur Langlet.
The win marked Boise coach Mike Darrow’s 301st career victory. Boise, Timberline, Borah (14-2-2) and Rocky Mountain (11-4-3) all advance to next week’s state tournament as automatic qualifiers.
First-round matchups will be set Saturday.
- EAGLE 4, CENTENNIAL 1: Ethan Cutler recorded a hat trick and Krew Christensen added a goal to extend the Mustangs’ season. As the fifth-place finisher from the Boise region, Eagle (10-7-3) advances to a state play-in game against Lewiston (7-8-0) at 4 p.m. Mountain time Saturday in Lewiston.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 10:19 PM.
