Trojans triumph in OT

EAGLE - Scott Benner kept Post Falls in the game in the first half, and Matt Howard and Timmy Mueller teamed to give the Trojans their first state tournament win in school history.

Mueller took a through ball from Howard and slotted a shot inside the far post from 8 yards out on the left side late in the second overtime, giving Post Falls a 1-0 victory over Centennial in the first round of the state 5A boys soccer tournament Thursday afternoon at Eagle High.

"He (Howard) played a perfect through ball, and all I had to do was place it in the lower right corner. He made me look good," Mueller said of the golden goal, which came in the 96th minute and was the first goal scored at state by Post Falls in school history. "I think the hardest game (at state) is the first game because you don't know what to expect, and coming out with the win is icing on the cake."

Post Falls (17-0-2) will play District 3 runner-up Boise (17-1-0) in the semifinals today at 1 p.m. PDT at Eagle High. Boise defeated Eagle 3-1.

"I thought we had a rough first half," Post Falls coach Gabe Lawson said. "We outshot them in the first half, and had a couple golden opportunities that we missed. We played a phenomenal second half."

He said the Trojans had to get used to the bouncier, crowned artificial turf field at Eagle High, which was different from the smooth, flat surface they practiced on Monday and Tuesday at the Dwight Merkel complex in Spokane.

“The first half was pretty shaky,” Mueller said. “Everyone was nervous because everyone knows the potential of our team; there was a lot of weight on our shoulders.”

Benner, who played two years ago when the Trojans went two and out in their only other state appearance, made two big saves in the first half on Thursday, after Post Falls turned the ball over and Centennial countered.

“It was just one of those reaction saves,” Benner said. “When I played baseball for 12 years I played catcher, and I learned to get down quick.”

First half — none. Second half — none. First overtime — none. Second overtime — 1, PF, Timmy Mueller (Matt Howard), 96:00.

Shots on goal — PF 10, Cent 8.

Saves — PF, Scott Benner 4. Cent, Johnathan Njilayi 4.

Mountain View 1

Lake City 0

MERIDIAN — Midfielder Logan Tooley scored in the 41st minute on an assist from Joseph Azevedo to give the Mavericks of Meridian a win over the Timberwolves in a 5A opener at Rocky Mountain High.

Lake City (9-7-2) had chances to tie the match in the final three minutes as a Mason Sanchez shot from 30 yards out to the left corner of the net was saved by Tyler Blackmer. Blackmer also saved a free kick in the final minute to preserve the victory.

“Their keeper fully extended to make the best save I’ve seen,” Lake City coach Chad Beadell said. “The boys battled hard and I was really impressed with their energy level, especially as early as the match was.”

Lake City’s match kicked off at 9:05 a.m. MDT, a few minutes before the sunrise in the Treasure Valley.

“It wasn’t completely pitch black, but it was a little harder to see warming up,” said Beadell of the setting at Eagle High. “It’s a perfect atmosphere for this tournament. Great fields, new turf — it’s really nice. Playing on the turf didn’t affect the game. We possessed the ball really well and we had a couple of bad touches because of the turf, but it wasn’t anything major. I was just disappointed for the boys not being able to find that tying goal and seeing what could have happened from there.”

Lake City will face Skyline (9-3-2) of Idaho Falls this morning at Eagle High in a loser-out game.

First half — none. Second half — 1, MV, Logan Tooley (Joseph Azevedo), 41:00.

Shots on goal — MV 7, LC 4.

Saves — MV, Tyler Blackmer 4; LC, Tanner Horton 6.

Bonneville 1

Lakeland 0

CALDWELL — The defending state 4A champion Bees of Idaho Falls caught a break when a Hawks own goal in the 48th minute proved to be the difference in their first-round match at Brothers Field.

“The ball crossed into the middle and everyone was kicking at it,” Lakeland coach Nick Haynes said. “(Keeper) Cade (Coffey) dove and made a play on the ball and it got away from him, everyone was laying around the net and it went in. It was unlucky, but it happens. It was an accident.”

Lakeland, in its first state tournament appearance in school history, finished with five shots on goal.

“We came out really, really flat today,” Haynes said. “We came out slow and with not a lot of intensity and weren’t playing well in the first half. In the second half we picked it up a little and started getting some shots and looks at the net, but couldn’t find the back of it.”

Coffey finished with seven saves for Lakeland (11-5-3), which faces Burley (8-7-4) today in a loser-out game.

First half — none. Second half —1, Bonn, own goal, 48:00.

Shots on goal — Bonn 7, LL 5.

Saves — Bonn, Blake Nield 5; LL, Cade Coffey 7.

n GIRLS

Boise 2

Lake City 1 (OT)

MERIDIAN — Samantha Cordum scored on an assist from Sophia Kallas four minutes into overtime, lifting the Braves past the Timberwolves in a 5A first-round match at Meridian High.

“It’s always tough to face Boise High in the first game down here,” Lake City coach Matt Ruchti said. “We took them to OT, but the girl got a shot off and put it away.”

Nikki Webster scored in the 67th minute for Lake City (10-5-3), which faces Mountain View (10-4-4) today in a loser-out game at Meridian High.

“We had gotten some momentum after Nikki’s goal, but couldn’t put it away,” Ruchti said. “I’m really proud of the kids. They fought hard to get back into the game, it just didn’t fall for us tonight.”

Maddi Ward had a free kick bounce off the crossbar late in the second half for Lake City.

First half — 1, Boi, Savannah Larsen, 11:00. Second half — 2, LC, Nikki Webster (Maddi Ward), 67:00. Overtime — 3, Boi, Samantha Cordum (Sophia Kallas), 84:00.

Shots on goal — Boi 10, LC 7.

Saves — Boi, Mary Kincaid 6; LC, Brittany Amburn 6.

Teton 4

Timberlake 0

CALDWELL — Amanda Otto had two goals and an assist as the Redskins (14-1-2) defeated the Tigers in their state 3A opener at Vallivue High.

“We held them strong in the second half, but we didn’t show up in the first,” said Timberlake coach Steve Michael, whose team trailed 3-0 at halftime. “Part of the game is you’ve got to be mentally prepared as well. When the refs blew the whistle, you’ve got to go, and we didn’t. We’ll let this one go and prepare for the second game.”

Timberlake (8-8-2) will face Bliss (11-6-1) in a loser-out match today.