Working toward same goal

At Lake City High, especially when it comes to the girls soccer program, it is about each moment and getting better each time they step on the field, whether that’s practice or a match.

And seniors Bridget Rieken and Chloe Teets have seen their fair share of moments for the Timberwolves program:

- A runner-up finish at state soccer as freshmen, where both had key roles in a shootout against Centennial in 2015.

- That memorable Saturday afternoon when Teets hit the deciding penalty kick to give the program a state title in 2016.

Been there, done that.

Rieken scored the first goal in the 2015 championship match vs. Centennial, which ended up being the lone Lake City goal in regulation and overtime.

“I’d been trying so hard to get a goal,” Rieken said. “When it finally did come, it was perfect timing.”

That following year, they were on the other end as Teets beat the Rocky Mountain goalkeeper for the 2016 title at Coeur d’Alene High.

“Hitting the winning PK was definitely a highlight for me,” Teets said. “Both my freshman and sophomore years at state are by far my best memories in high school.”

“It really helped us a lot because we were at home,” Rieken said. “Whenever we go to Boise, we’re usually on turf. But it rained while we were here, so that helped a little bit. It was just amazing, especially in the championship game when everyone thought we were going to choke again, but we came through. It felt better to win that one, because we won it at home. We got to celebrate that with our community all together at once.”

Lake City was fifth at state in 2017.

Lake City girls soccer coach Matt Ruchti could see the potential in both Rieken and Teets from an early age.

“I’ve had some great memories of those two since they were 10 years old,” Ruchti said. “They didn’t always play on the same club team. Back then, Bridget played up when they played on the U10 and U11 teams, and when they went to pure birth-year age groups, they started to play more together. My favorite memories of were of them just running around out here on these fields and coaching them at the club level and knowing I was going to be a part of it for the next 10 years.

“They were always very serious about the game and always wanted to do the extra work. They’d always hang out after practice to shoot at the goal and were always the kids you’d have to kick off the field. That’s who they are. They’re just great ambassadors of this program, and soccer in general and how you want young adults to approach the game.”

And it took a community to put both Rieken and Teets in a situation on the soccer field they’d never imagined before.

As members of the Sting-Timbers FC U18, the squad advanced to the national championship game of the President’s Cup in Westfield, Ind., this summer, finishing second.

“It just gave us a lot of energy going into the season,” Rieken said. “We didn’t go a long time without playing this summer, so we had a short gap and had more time to develop our skills even more, so when we got to the high school season, we just put it all together.

“We’ve never made it that far. To get to nationals, and say you’re from Idaho, that never happens. When we’d go places, they’d say they were from Texas or California. To say we’re from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, that was an honor.”

“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Teets said. “Hopefully we get a chance to do it again, but that’s definitely outweighs winning state as a sophomore. It was amazing getting to meet girls from across the country. It was totally different. We were playing a team from Pennsylvania, and I ended up hitting the game-winning penalty kick. But everything up until that, it was a physical game and something we weren’t used to.”

Rieken, a defender, will continue her playing career at Washington State next fall, staying with a commitment she made as a sophomore.

“Oregon State was my No. 1 school, but I ended up taking a visit to Washington State first,” Rieken said. “I told them (WSU) I was looking at Oregon State, but when I visited Oregon State, it was not a good fit at all. Once I finished with Oregon State, I just compared everything to Washington State, and nothing could compare to that. Everything just fit perfectly.”

Two years later, she’s still all in on the Cougs.

“I’m so excited,” Rieken said. “When I get to WSU, I get to play center midfield, which I’m excited about. I’ve got to learn a new position that I haven’t played before. I’ve been playing a little bit at forward this year, and it’s so much different than the back line. When I get up there, all I want to do is score goals. I’m excited to see what the summer has in store for me and how I compare to the other freshmen coming in.”

For Teets — a midfielder — her college decision was a little more complex.

Teets verballed to play at the University of Idaho, but decommitted when the program was in flux last spring. A trip to Boise for the Idaho State Cup changed her future.

“With all the athletic things and the academic things going on, I just decided Idaho wasn’t a good fit,” Teets said. “I went down for State Cup to coach my (Sting-Timbers) ‘05 boys team in Boise. I’d been talking with Smitty (College of Idaho coach Brian Smith) a little bit before and decided to go on campus with my parents, got a tour of the different programs. And it was just a different feel than Idaho. It’s much smaller than Idaho, and maybe Lake City, but the class sizes, I’ll be able to interact with my teachers. And I love having that personal connection with my teacher. I’m excited to be wanted somewhere that I’ll hopefully get a chance to play a lot and have some success there.”

Both have also spent time giving back at the club level, with Teets serving as an assistant coach.

“Her dedication to what she does is unreal,” Ruchti said. “Bridget is a different kind of dedication. Chloe really studies the game, and Bridget is a gifted athlete. Chloe, she’s been coaching in our club for the last two years. She runs training sessions, and not for younger kids, but for U12, U13 and U14 boys. She really has a presence about her and how she goes about her work. And that has just led to an impactful coaching career.”

Ruchti is also the director of competition for the Timbers-Thorns North FC, a mix of the former Sting Premier Soccer Club and North Idaho Inferno in May.

“She (Teets) came to us to just start giving back,” Ruchti said. “We knew what kind of a kid she was, so (Sting-Timbers FC director) Mike Thompson made her an assistant coach. And she’s been working with the club every since. She’s going to be a great coach someday. She’s a good coach right now, but she’s going to be great someday.”

Rieken also helped within the program with some of her future teammates now at the varsity level.

“Some of those kids are freshmen on this year’s team, so it’s been kind of fun to get to play with them now,” Rieken said. “I remember being a freshman and looking up to some of the seniors. Now, it’s kind of humbling to be in that same situation.”

Lake City (13-2-0) opens the state 5A tournament on Thursday against Eagle (10-7-0) at the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex. Lake City beat Eagle 1-0 in last year’s opening round at state.

And sure, they’ve won the Region 1 title all four years they’ve been in the program. But that doesn’t mean it came easy for either Rieken or Teets.

“They train hard,” Ruchti said of Rieken and Teets. “They don’t take days off. They might have off days, but they don’t take days off. They come ready to work. And the young players get it. There’s all different kinds of players were interact with, and those that just want to be a part of it and show up for the social aspect. But those two, they show up every day. And there’s not a moment they take off.”