Rocky Mountain tops Boise for district title. The defensive duel turned on an own goal

For a brief moment near the end of the first half, the Rocky Mountain High boys soccer team led 1-0 over Boise without a single shot on goal.

Rocky Mountain spent much of the first half on the back foot in the 5A District Three Tournament championship game at Centennial High, with Boise missing two golden opportunities in the opening 25 minutes.

But quick footwork from Grizzlies junior Rylan McPherson, followed by a dangerous ball across the face of the goal, resulted in Boise defender Fisher Hill deflecting the ball into his own goal. It was the opening goal in what would end up a 2-0 victory for Rocky Mountain (13-2-1), clinching the Grizzlies their second district title in the past four years.

“That’s been the M.O. for the season,” Rocky Mountain head coach Bill Taylor told the Idaho Statesman. “We often play … it seems we’re always in our half. But we still find a way. And that’s the tenacity of the players. When they have the opportunity, we finish.”

In a tenacious game that had shades of the first meeting between the two teams this season — a 2-0 Boise victory with three red cards — Boise (14-3-2) once again looked likelier to score. No cards were shown this time, but the Brave threatened early after flashing a header just wide. And minutes later, forward Baraka Dayi sent a volley wide.

Dayi and attacking midfielder Sohail Ebrahimi threatened the Rocky Mountain goal throughout the night, forcing several good saves from goalkeeper Myles Cromar. The duo managed four shots on target, outdoing Rocky Mountain’s three.

But a quick counterattack down the left led by McPherson opened the scoring in the 38th minute. McPherson caused plenty of trouble for the Boise defense, often proving difficult to tackle.

“This year is kind of (McPherson’s) coming-out party,” Taylor said. “He’s a special player. As a coach, you get lucky to coach a player like that. And I feel very fortunate to have someone like that on my team.”

The goal gave Rocky Mountain confidence heading into the second half, resulting in the Grizzlies finally getting some shots on goal. While things were clicking up the field for Rocky, senior center backs Tommy Hammons and Carter Woodbury were keeping Boise’s threatening offense on lockdown.

The closest Boise came to a goal was a close-range shot from Dayi that bounced off the outside of the post from a tight angle.

“Tommy and Carter, that combination together, the numbers speak for itself,” Taylor said. “Most of the ways that we’ve conceded (this season) have been when one of them hasn’t been on the field.”

Rocky Mountain sealed the game in the final seconds thanks to junior forward Hasan Alaali. With Boise pressing desperately for the tying goal, Alaali pickpocketed the ball from Boise’s sole defender before running downfield, rounding goalkeeper Eli Brockl and booting the ball into the empty net with 2 seconds left.

Both teams have qualified for the state tournament, which begins Oct. 19 at Eagle High. Seeds will not be announced until Monday.

This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 11:02 PM.