‘They believed from the beginning.’ Timberline boys edge Boise for 5A state soccer title
Before the ball had even hit the back of the net, Aydin Ege was in a dead sprint toward the Timberline High student section.
As the senior midfielder climbed up on the railing to embrace the celebration in the stands, his teammates crowded around behind him with the same rush of emotion.
It was Ege’s first goal of the season, and probably the biggest of his career.
In the 64th minute, Ege flicked in a header off a free kick from teammate Quintin Boggs to lift Timberline to a 2-1 victory over Boise in the 5A boys soccer state championship game Saturday at Eagle High.
It is the fourth state title in program history and the first for the Wolves (18-1-2) since they went back to back in 2014 and 2015.
“He’s been the facilitator all year,” Timberline goalkeeper Ben Anderson said of Ege. “He’s been waiting and waiting, and he’s been a leader at practice. He’s been the one who’s kept our spirits high when it gets chippy. He can be chippy, but he’s one of the most energetic players. He’s the reason we are energetic.”
The Wolves entered the championship match as the top defensive team in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference. Goalkeepers Anderson and Parker Gropp had given up a combined eight goals all season, with the next closest team, Boise, allowing 19 goals.
Anderson had made a league-leading 47 saves while giving up just six goals in 900 minutes for a goals-against average of 0.53 per game. Gropp totaled 12 saves and two goals allowed in 500 minutes for a goals-against average of 0.30.
“Our back line has been solid all year,” first-year Timberline coach Adrian Kane said. “We’ve had periods where we’ve had trouble scoring, and they kept us in those games.”
But Timberline didn’t have any trouble asserting itself early against the Brave (14-3-4). Jake Anderson — whose triplet brothers, Ben and Caleb, also play for the Wolves — headed home a corner kick served by Boggs for a 1-0 advantage in the ninth minute.
The Wolves’ lead stretched into the second half until a rare miscue from Ben Anderson allowed Boise’s Chase Kluksdal to score on a free kick from more than 50 yards out.
“It was certainly up and down, that’s for sure,” Kane said. “We thought we had it at 1-nothing. And, bit of a fluke goal, but that’s soccer. That’s why you play. Our boys have been super composed all year. It’s one of the things we emphasized, and we knew we’d be able to find a way. They believed from the beginning.”
Kluksdal’s arcing shot in the 54th minute bounced off Ben Anderson’s outstretched hands and into the net. Anderson then crouched down on the turf and put his head between his knees, but his teammates swarmed in to pat his back and stand him up.
“Ben is one of our captains, and he leads the team,” Ege said. “Throughout the whole season, he’s been bringing us up, so we just try to return the favor.”
Ege also felt some responsibility for the goal, as it was his yellow card that set up Kluksdal’s free kick. Saturday’s championship match featured four yellow cards, all of which came in the second half.
The Brave out shot the Wolves 12-4, including a 9-3 advantage on goal, and an 8-2 margin on corner kicks.
Timberline was also playing without leading scorer Kai Hatten, who was injured in the Wolves’ regular-season match against Boise on Oct. 4.
“We really did do it together,” Kane said. “We had different guys step up at different moments. ... We were very fortunate to have the depth at multiple positions to be able to get us through, and then we really just played for each other and carried each other when we needed to.”
After the championship trophy and banner had been turned over to the Wolves, Kane received hug after hug after hug from his players. The team then posed for photos in goal and finally exited the field through a tunnel formed by fans.
It was exactly what the Wolves imagined before the season had even begun.
“We hadn’t even gotten on the practice field, we were sitting down getting our cleats on, and we just listed out all our goals,” Ben Anderson said. “We got three out of the four: We got academic state champ, conference champ and state champ. We didn’t get district champ due to Boise, but our team knew we could do it from the start.”
Rocky Mountain 2, Lake City 1, OT: Freshman Rylan McPherson scored on a penalty kick in the 86th minute to lift the Grizzlies to the third-place trophy for the second straight year.
With time running out, junior Lieven Ivanza notched the equalizer for the Grizzlies (13-5-3) in the 78th minute to send the game to overtime. After a scoreless first half, Lake City senior forward Noah Janzen gave the Timberwolves a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 52nd minute.
Borah wins consolation: Borah (16-3-2) brought home its first state tournament trophy since the Lions won it all in 2017. After playing to a 1-1 tie through 100 minutes, the Lions beat Thunder Ridge in a penalty-kick shootout, 4-2.
Junior Valenzuela put Thunder Ridge up 1-0, but the Titans gave up an own goal shortly thereafter, ultimately sending the game to a pair of 10-minute overtimes and then penalty kicks.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 8:51 PM.
