You again? Rocky Mountain, Boise boys soccer vie for district title for 2nd year in a row
The Boise and Rocky Mountain boys soccer teams have gotten quite familiar with each other the past few seasons.
The teams have squared off four times in a little more than a year, and now they’ll play for a fifth time Wednesday with the 6A District Three Tournament championship trophy up for grabs. Play begins at 4:30 p.m. at Fort Boise.
The Brave and Grizzlies met in last year’s district title game, too, with Rocky winning 2-0.
“We kind of knew coming in that was who we might see,” Boise coach Mike Darrow said. “When we ended that game (Oct. 5), they said, ‘Hey, see you again.’
“We have a lot of respect for how they play, and they’ve got dangerous guys all over the field. And we do, too.”
The Grizzlies have won three straight against the Brave, including a 2-0 home victory 10 days ago.
Here’s how both team pulled off district semifinal wins Monday to qualify for the state tournament:
ROCKY MOUNTAIN 4, OWYHEE 1
Oslo Hart spent the last two years at a boarding school in Minnesota playing soccer with his little brother.
But Hart came back to the Treasure Valley for his senior season at Rocky Mountain to reunite with his childhood teammates.
The move has paid off, as the top-seeded Grizzlies defeated No. 4 Owyhee (11-5-2) in the semifinals at Fort Boise, earning a state berth and a spot in the district title game for the second year in a row.
Hart scored Rocky Mountain’s first goal of the game in the 46th minute on an assist from junior right wing Gabe Hernandez. It was just his fourth goal of the season, but came at a crucial time to give the Grizzlies some momentum after a scoreless first half.
“He’s feeling a little more comfortable with the team and what his role is,” Rocky Mountain coach Bill Taylor said of Hart. “It’s exciting to see that. He’s peaking at the right moment.”
Hart’s goal opened up the flood gates for Rocky Mountain (14-1-2), as senior striker Rylan McPherson netted an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute, and Hernandez converted a penalty kick in the 57th for a 3-0 lead.
“I had a chance in the first half that I didn’t put away that I feel like I should have,” Hart said. “Going into the second half, we knew what we had to do and do it early. When Gabe took those guys on and played it across, I kind of just set myself up to put it in the back of the net. It was great.”
McPherson netted his team-leading 21st goal of the season in the 63rd minute courtesy of an assist from junior Drake Rutz, and keeper Paul Mercadante made six saves for the Grizzlies.
Senior Easton Estes scored Owyhee’s lone goal on a penalty kick in the 61st minute.
BOISE 2, BISHOP KELLY 0
Longtime Boise coach Mike Darrow already had a loaded roster, but he pulled sophomore C.J. Zambukos up to varsity for the district tournament anyway.
And Zambukos seems to be fitting in just fine.
Zambukos has contributed an assist in each of the Brave’s last two games, including an assist to standout senior forward Baraka Dayi in the 80th minute of a semifinal victory over Bishop Kelly on Monday afternoon. The win sends Boise to state for the fifth year in a row.
“The intensity in the first half was definitely there, but our decision making was a little frantic,” Darrow said. “In the second half, I thought they slowed it down a little bit and made better decisions. When we got in front of the goal, we put them away, finally.”
No. 2 seed Boise (14-2-1) and No. 3 Bishop Kelly (12-3-3) remained scoreless after the first 40 minutes of play. But the Brave found the back of the net in the 56th minute when Dayi fed senior midfielder Alex Hoefer. It was Hoefer’s sixth goal of the season and Dayi’s team-leading 11th assist.
“I’m proud of the team,” Dayi said. “We’ve worked hard since the first day of the season, and the job is not finished yet. We want more. This is not the goal. The goal is to win a state championship.”
Boise’s roster features 11 seniors, many of whom have been on varsity since their freshman year, when the Brave beat Timberline 1-0 in overtime in the district championship game.
“They’ve finished second a couple times (at state) and got a third,” Darrow said. “I think they definitely want to add the first to it. And we took the first step. You’ve gotta get there.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 8:57 PM.
