District champs again: Three second-half goals extend Bishop Kelly’s dominant streak

It had its moments of doubt. But the streak continues.

The Bishop Kelly girls soccer team rallied from an early deficit Thursday to down Vallivue 3-1 in the 4A District Three Tournament championship, extending the Knights’ streak of 14 straight district titles and clinching them a spot in next week’s state tournament.

“I think (the streak) is pretty amazing,” Bishop Kelly (14-2-1) coach Dawn Hill said. “I’m not sure that there’s any team that’s had that kind of a streak. I think this game was a little bit different because in the past, both teams (in the district championship) made it to state. But you had to win it today, so I felt like this one meant a little bit more.

“But I think, just being able to keep that streak alive, is fun. The girls have a lot of pride in knowing there’s a streak, and they’re playing for that as well as a district championship.”

The Falcons (10-6-1) opened the scoring with a 25-yard blast from freshman Amanda Soto inside the first minute. Soto nearly doubled the lead in the 26th minute, but the shot bounced off the crossbar.

Bishop Kelly then took over the second half, scoring three unanswered goals. The Knights broke through just after halftime when a deflection in the Falcons’ 18-yard box helped freshman Erin DiVittorio slot home the tying goal.

“In the half, (the team) said that midfielders needed to work as a team more and keep playing balls up,” DiVittorio said. “We didn’t change much. We just said we needed to play the way we normally play and stay positive.”

DiVittorio added a second goal in the 69th minute off a cross from Taylor Deitzel. Two minutes later, Gracie Rhodes slid by a defender in Vallivue’s 18-yard box and struck a near-post dagger to seal the win.

“Erin is someone who just works,” Hill said. “She doesn’t stop, and she just makes great runs into the box. She’s made great runs all year, and today, they just went in the goal. I think she’s gotten a lot more composure as the season’s gone on, and there’s been more trust in her from her teammates.”

Bishop Kelly heads to Post Falls for next week’s 4A state tournament as the No. 1 seed. Vallivue hosts Ridgevue (9-11-0) in a winner-to-state, loser-out game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 10:47 PM.