This Storm has arrived: Owyhee upsets defending champ Boise to win 5A girls soccer title

On paper, Saturday afternoon’s 5A girls soccer state championship game was a bit of a case of David vs. Goliath.

There was Boise, the No. 1-seeded defending state champion, competing in its sixth straight title game, without a single loss this season.

And there was Owyhee, a school in just its third year of existence, competing in its first state tournament, led by first-year head coach Madison Brown, who was playing college soccer at The College of Idaho just five years ago.

Of course, everyone knows how David vs. Goliath turned out.

After a scoreless 100 minutes Saturday afternoon, Owyhee (16-4-1) defeated Boise 3-2 in a penalty-kick shootout at Rocky Mountain High to claim the 5A state championship.

“You come into a team, and you’re new, and they’ve had their culture before, and you kind of have to break a lot of things,” Brown said. “But we came in, and the girls just immediately bought in from the summer.

“As soon as I got the job, they said, ‘Let’s do this.’ I think that’s a big part of it. They learned to trust me as fast as they could. And I trusted them. And here we are.”

For girls soccer juggernaut Boise (17-1-1), it was an unwelcome but familiar feel to end the season. Of all those title game appearances in a row, only last season ended with the Brave celebrating.

“Hats off to Owyhee — all-female staff, fairly new program,” Boise coach Nicole Arsenault said. “Those girls believed in each other and have worked pretty hard. So hats off to them.”

It was a long weekend for Owyhee. After squeezing out a 1-0 victory over Mountain View in the quarterfinals Thursday, the Storm required a penalty shootout to beat Timberline in Friday’s semifinals, a feat they had to repeat Saturday.

Brown said she had a simple message for her players heading into overtime on Saturday, as they faced yet another 20 minutes of high-intensity play against the defending champions: Play with heart and give everything you’ve got.

“The best motivator was there’s no practice on Monday,” Brown laughed. “There’s nothing left to lose. So, coming in as the underdog, I think they just had nothing to lose. They just went for it.”

Owyhee forwards Naomi Kessler and Victoria Pislari came close to scoring on multiple occasions before the PKs, keeping Boise goalkeeper Juliette Langlet on her toes throughout the game. Owyhee captain Megan Haws helped keep a tight lock on Boise’s dangerous pair of Kunie Hirai and Grace Hatch down on the other end of the field.

The penalty shootout plaudits go to three Storm players: goalkeeper Ashlyn Fuss, and outfield players Emily Murphy and Brooke Sauer.

After both teams converted their first penalties, Owyhee missed three straight kicks, giving Boise a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth and possibly final round. With Boise up first, a goal would seal the title. But with the game on the line, Fuss stood firm to make a save on Boise’s Mia Barron.

Fuss plays on the same club team as Barron, so she said she had an idea of where Barron would shoot. Fuss also made a close-range save on her club teammate early in the second half, dashing out on Barron’s shot from just 6 yards out.

“When we do (penalties) at practice, I know exactly where she goes,” Fuss said. “She’s a great player. I love her so much. But just because you’re my club player, I’m not going to go easy on you.”

Sauer, who scored the winning penalty against Timberline on Friday, calmly sent her kick into the net to force a sixth round. Boise again missed — junior Catherine Carpenter’s low shot clanged off the right post — giving Murphy a chance to win the state title on her final kick as a Storm player.

“I just thought to stay calm and not to get in anyone’s head,” Murphy said. “And then I just think, don’t listen to anyone and stay in my own mind and then just go for it.”

Murphy said she usually goes for the left corner. Striking true, that’s where the ball went, giving Owyhee the state title in sudden-death penalties.

Murphy, a senior, said there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted the final kick.

“I tried my hardest in the game,” she said, “and I really wanted to have that opportunity.”

EAGLE 1, TIMBERLINE 0: Madelyn Brown scored the game’s only goal, and Katherine Southard made it stand up with six saves as the Mustangs (13-4-1) brought home the third-place trophy.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 1, HIGHLAND 0: Freshman Addyson Crumley made six saves for her second straight shutout, and Zoey Jones provided the game-winner as the Mavericks (13-7-1) bounced back from a first-round loss for the consolation trophy.

This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 7:17 PM.