Boise, Caldwell shake up Idaho boys soccer state tournament with upsets
A pair of late upsets highlighted the opening day of the 2025 Idaho boys soccer state tournament Thursday.
No. 8 Boise knocked off top-seeded Rocky Mountain in double overtime, and No. 6 Caldwell toppled No. 3 Mountain View on penalty kicks in the 6A tournament at Eagle High. Those were the only two upsets of the day as the rest of the 6A, 5A and 4A playoffs went according to seeds.
Get caught up with all the first-round headlines for Southwest Idaho teams, and the full semifinal schedule and daily scoreboard below.
[Related: Girls soccer state tournament scoreboard]
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
6A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Eagle
- No. 8 Boise (13-8-1) vs. No. 4 Borah (14-4-1), 1 p.m.
- No. 6 Caldwell (14-6-2) vs. No. 2 Thunder Ridge (18-1-0), 3 p.m.
5A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Columbia
- No. 1 Vallivue (16-1-0) vs. No. 4 Twin Falls (13-6-1), 1 p.m.
- No. 3 Sandpoint (14-3-2) vs. No. 2 Wood River (16-1-2), 3 p.m.
4A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Owyhee
- No. 1 Coeur d’Alene Charter (16-1-0)) vs. No. 4 Sun Valley Community (16-3-2), 1 p.m.
- No. 3 McCall-Donnelly (14-1-1) vs. No. 2 Wendell (17-1-2), 3 p.m.
IDAHO 6A BOYS SOCCER STATE TOURNAMENT
BOISE 2, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 1 (2OT): Only 43 seconds separated this first-round matchup from penalty kicks. But Boise’s Xabi Robertson deflected a clearance in front of the Rocky Mountain net for the golden goal, leading the eighth-seeded Brave to an upset over the tournament’s top seed.
Boise (13-8-1) junior midfielder Meyer Smith started the game-winning sequence, springing defender Tyler Ediss for a run down the right side. Ediss fired a low shot to the left corner, forcing a rebound from goalkeeper Paul Mercadante’s diving save.
A scramble ensued for the loose ball on the back post before Robertson’s foot found an attempted clearance and the back of the net.
“It was wild,” Robertson said. “I didn’t really know what to do, to be honest. I just saw everyone running, everyone cheering. It doesn’t feel real.”
Robertson’s golden deflection provided the second last-second goal of the match. Boise took a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute on Jack Andonian’s header. Rocky Mountain (15-3-0) then forced overtime when Taulant Hyseni headed in a deep throw-in from Drake Rutz in the 79th minute.
The top-ranked Grizzlies continued to dominate possession and the goal-scoring chances in overtime just as they did all morning. But the state’s top defense weathered the storm until Boise found its opportunity and converted.
The victory sends Boise to the state semifinals for the sixth straight year. But the blue-blood program enters in an unfamiliar role as an underdog.
The reigning state champ entered the tournament with eight losses, an unheard-of number for the Brave. But Boise coach Graham Reid noted seven of those losses came by a single goal. The other came in a district tournament shootout.
“Probably four or five of those games were decided by us missing a penalty or the other team making a penalty,” Reid said. “And we’ve had tons of tough losses. We haven’t had the bounces go our way, but the team has been really resilient.”
BORAH 2, OWYHEE 0: The fourth-seeded Lions (14-4-1) entered the tournament as arguably one of the state’s hottest teams. And Borah kept rolling Thursday, scoring its 10th victory in the past 11 games to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2018.
“It’s unreal,” Borah coach Brian Shields said. “These kids come from eight different countries. And for them to put it all together like this, it’s a miracle just to be in the semis. We’ve got a lot of seniors, but it’s a lot of new seniors to the program.”
The Lions pounced on a couple of early Owyhee miscues for a quick lead. A heavy touch from an Owyhee defender sprung Borah forward Levi Cornett for a breakaway in the 4th minute, and the sophomore coolly buried the opportunity.
Adrian Lowe then added the final goal in the 23rd minute, one-timing a bouncing ball out of the air toward the net. The shot struck an Owyhee defender in the back and ricocheted in.
Borah frustrated the Storm attack all afternoon, holding Owyhee to three shots on goal. Four-year starting goalkeeper Christian Griffith stopped them all and received an assist from the crossbar in the 57th minute to post the shutout.
The loss drops Owyhee (13-6-1) into the consolation bracket, where it takes on Rocky Mountain at 9 a.m. Saturday at Eagle.
CALDWELL 1, MOUNTAIN VIEW 1 (CALDWELL 4-2 PKs): Most goalkeepers dread penalty kicks. But Horacio Hernandez isn’t most goalkeepers.
The Caldwell senior turned away a pair of shots in Thursday’s shootout, leading the sixth-seeded Cougars to their first state tournament victory in the state’s top classification since the IHSAA began sponsoring the playoffs in 2000.
“I love the energy, the feeling of the pressure on me,” Hernandez said. “Because the pressure makes me play better. It makes me want it more.”
Hernandez turned away Mountain View’s Jace Obenchain on the opening touch of the shootout, spotting the Cougars (14-6-2) early control. He then dove to his right and made a kick save on Evan Silva’s attempt in the fourth round, adding to his PK heroics.
Hernandez was in net for Caldwell’s 2022 state title shootout victory over Bishop Kelly in the state’s second-largest classification. He also turned away five shots in an 11-round loss to Borah last week in the district tournament, and stopped another spot kick in a state-clinching victory over Boise.
Hernandez’s final stop Thursday set the stage for senior reserve Adan Gamino to deliver the game-winning strike. Caldwell buried all four of its spot kicks, and Gamino sank the last one, burning a shot straight down the middle to allow the Cougars to storm the field.
“He didn’t play one minute at districts or one minute at state,” Caldwell coach Rhys Yeakley said. “So far, he’s probably played 10 minutes on senior night and 30 minutes total the whole season.
“But he’s got a rocket for a shot.”
Caldwell broke a scoreless stalemate in the 62nd minute when Yandel Ortega one-timed a bouncing ball in the box from 10 yards out. But third-seeded Mountain View (15-4-1) forced overtime and a shootout on Landon Frei’s 78th-minute header.
The upset victory extends Caldwell’s underdog run in its final season as a 6A program. The Cougars struggled in their first year against Idaho’s top squads, going 5-8-2, and they were picked to finish 10th out of 14 teams this fall in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.
But Caldwell proved it belonged this season, made the top state tournament for the first time, and knocked off the SIC regular-season champ Thursday to advance to the state semifinals.
“Last year was the hardest year I’ve ever coached,” Yeakley said. “Everyone expected us to come in and compete, and we won five or six games.
“People laughed at us. People made fun of us. They said we couldn’t handle 6A.
“It was never that. We were always good enough. It was just we didn’t have the caliber of kids last year to be able to do the type of things that we did today.”
THUNDER RIDGE 2, CANYON RIDGE 0: Freshman Kai Redd climbed the ladder and headed home corner kicks from Richard Munguia in the 49th and 70th minutes to lead the Titans to their fourth win this season over a conference rival.
STATE TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
THURSDAY
First round
At Eagle
Boise 2, Rocky Mountain 1, 2OT
Borah 2, Owyhee 0
Caldwell 1, Mountain View 1 (Caldwell 4-2 on PKs)
Thunder Ridge 2, Canyon Ridge 0
FRIDAY
Consolation bracket
At Eagle
Game 5: Rocky Mountain vs. Owyhee, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Mountain View vs. Canyon Ridge, 11 a.m.
Semifinals
At Eagle
Game 7: Boise vs. Borah, 1 p.m.
Game 8: Caldwell vs. Thunder Ridge, 3 p.m.
IDAHO 5A BOYS SOCCER STATE TOURNAMENT
VALLIVUE 2, POCATELLO 0: The reigning state champs moved one step closer to another title with a first-round victory at Columbia High.
Marcos Madrigal scored and set up another goal for Vallivue (16-1-0). Ryan Steinbach also scored, and Alvaro Espinoza stopped three shots to post the Falcons’ seventh straight shutout.
WOOD RIVER 5, NAMPA 0: Reidar Slotten netted a hat trick, and Piero Cerron and Hayden Gvozdas added goals as the Wolverines routed Nampa to open the state tournament.
Nampa (10-9-1) freshman goalkeeper Athoz Grimaldo spent the afternoon under fire, making 16 saves.
STATE TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
At Columbia
THURSDAY
First round
Vallivue 2, Pocatello 0
Twin Falls 2, Blackfoot 2 (Twin Falls 4-2 on PKs)
Sandpoint 3, Skyline 2
Wood River 5, Nampa 0
FRIDAY
Consolation bracket
Game 5: Pocatello vs. Blackfoot, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Skyline vs. Nampa, 11 a.m.
Semifinals
Game 7: Vallivue vs. Twin Falls, 1 p.m.
Game 8: Sandpoint vs. Wood River, 3 p.m.
IDAHO 4A BOYS SOCCER STATE TOURNAMENT
MCCALL-DONNELLY 2, BONNERS FERRY 1: Sebastian Carheden scored a goal and added an assist, and Kage Stokes added another goal as the third-seeded Vandals advanced to Friday’s semifinal round.
Noah Jones recorded three saves to earn the win in net for McCall-Donnelly (14-1-1), who take on No. 2 Wendell in the semifinals.
WENDELL 3, AMBROSE 0: Edgar Tena converted a penalty kick and set up another goal, and Brian Orozco made six saves for the shutout to send the second-seeded Trojans to the semifinals and end the title chances for Ambrose (9-5-2).
STATE TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
THURSDAY
First round
At Owyhee
Coeur d’Alene Charter 3, Marsh Valley 0
Sun Valley Community 3, Teton 2
McCall-Donnelly 2, Bonners Ferry 1
Wendell 3, Ambrose 0
FRIDAY
Consolation bracket
At Owyhee
Game 5: Marsh Valley vs. Teton, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Bonners Ferry vs. Ambrose, 11 a.m.
Semifinals
At Owyhee
Game 7: Coeur d’Alene Charter vs. Sun Valley Community, 1 p.m.
Game 8: McCall-Donnelly vs. Wendell, 3 p.m.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
