Exchange student Santos shines for Timberlake

- BOYS SOCCER

SPIRIT LAKE — The St. Maries Lumberjacks might have surprised the Timberlake Tigers with their defense a little bit.

But the Tigers might have had the best surprise of all.

Joaa Santos, an exchange student from Spain, scored two unassisted goals in the second half to lift the Tigers past the visiting Lumberjacks 2-0 in the season and Intermountain League opener for both schools.

“Joaa is going to be a big addition for us this year,” Timberlake coach Steve Michael said. “St. Maries had great pressure and their speed, we were a little surprised. We started with a freshman at goalkeeper, and just played solid defense. We have a lot of new players, and were fortunate to come up with a couple of goals.”

Timberlake travels to Priest River on Tuesday.

St. Maries travels to Bonners Ferry on Thursday.

First half — none. Second half — 1, TL, Joaa Santos (Gavin Mooney), 41:00. 2, TL, Santos (unassisted), 60:00.

Shots on goal — SM 7, TL 13.

Saves — SM, unknown, 9; TL, Nate Andersen, 4.

Sandpoint 1

Lewiston 1

SANDPOINT — Saved by sophomore midfielder Evan Darling’s equalizer in the 72nd minute, the Sandpoint boys soccer team kicked off Tanner French’s head coaching career with a draw against Lewiston at Pine Street Field.

The goal was the result of a late offensive surge from the Bulldogs, who trailed for nearly 50 minutes before Darling scored his first varsity goal.

“I saw a little bit of heart,” French said of the underclassmen-heavy team’s attack. “It’s tough to have that mentality for 80 minutes. But they’re young, they’re inexperienced, and the only way they’re going to get experience and that mentality is to understand that it has to come from them.”

The Bulldogs controlled possession for the first 20 minutes, earning early chances off Lewiston fouls. Although Sandpoint couldn’t capitalize, the Bulldogs kept Bengals forwards Sam Miller and Tai Lawyer in check until the floodgates burst in the 20th minute. Thus began freshman goalkeeper Roman Jiles’ first major test.

The defense and Jiles held off Lawyer and Miller’s shots for a while before Jiles made a series of saves that French later called “fantastic.” But Lewiston eventually scored off a corner kick in the 24th minute.

“I called [Roman] last night and said ‘Hey, you’re going to play the entire game. Things are going to go wrong, but how are you going to adapt?’” French said. “I’m happy for him. He had four fantastic saves right before that goal. Obviously, it’d be nice to get a shutout your first go-round, but he’s a 14-year-old kid playing with 18-year-olds. It’s huge for him, it’s huge for the team and it’s a big confidence boost.”

Sandpoint hosts Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday.

Lewiston hosts Lakeland on Tuesday.

First half — 1, Lew, unknown (Kale Witt), 24:00. Second half — 1, Spt, Evan Darling (unassisted), 72:00.

Shots on goal — Lew, 9; Spt 12.

Saves — Lew, Kyson Barden, 5; Spt, Roman Jiles, 6.

Lakeland 2

Stillwater Christian 0

RATHDRUM — The first tally of the season for the Hawks came from an unexpected source at Sunrise Rotary Field.

Junior goalkeeper Bradley Munson converted a penalty kick in the 49th minute, lifting the Hawks past the Cougars of Kalispell, Mont., in the season opener for both schools.

“He’s a great field player, but he’s our keeper because he’s a better goalie,” Lakeland coach Jeremiah Beckett said. “We had the chance to get him a kick, but dropped our defense just in case. It was great for him to get a goal and a sigh of relief because everyone felt it energize our team.”

Isaac Fritts scored in the 78th minute for Lakeland, which visits Lewiston on Tuesday.

“I felt like we did a lot of things, but still had some mistakes,” Beckett said. “We have lots to work on, but that’s what we practice for.”

First half — none. Second half — 1, LL, Bradley Munson (penalty kick), 49:00. 2, LL, Isaac Fritts (unassisted), 78:00.

Shots on goal — LL 8, SWC 3.

Saves — LL, Bradley Munson 2; SWC, unknown, 6.

Lake City 1

Moscow 1

MOSCOW — Bryce Allred scored the tying goal on an assist from Ty Shaw in the 47th minute for the Timberwolves, who played to a draw with the Bears in the season opener for both at Moscow Community Playfields.

“We were not as sharp as I know we can be and were missing four players due to injuries, S.A.T. testing, etc.,” Lake City coach Alan Rich said. “We got off to a slower start than I would have liked and we were much better in the second half controlling the majority of the possession and creating more than enough opportunities. I’m confident this group will be able to reach their full potential as soon as we sharpen up a few things.”

Lake City hosts Moscow on Sept. 3.

First half — 1, Mos, unknown. Second half — 2, LC, Bryce Allred (Ty Shaw), 47:00.

Shots on goal — LC 10, Mos 8.

Saves — LC, Tyler Allred, 7; Mos, unknown, 9.

- GIRLS SOCCER

Sandpoint 2

Lewiston 0

LEWISTON — Sophomore Kylie Williams and senior Hannah Eddy scored to lead the Bulldogs past the Bengals in the season opener for both at Walker Field.

Williams opened up the scoring in the 14th minute off a cross from junior Aspen Larson. Later in the second half, Eddy scored after receiving a pass out of the defense from freshman Kelsey Cessna.

Sandpoint travels to Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday.

First half — 1, Spt, Kylie Williams (Aspen Larson), unknown. Second half — 2, Spt, Hannah Eddy (Kelsey Cessna), unknown.

Shots on goal — unknown.

Saves — unknown.

Timberlake 4

St. Maries 0

SPIRIT LAKE — Kaylee Dockter, Hanna Larson, Kiersten Sawley and Kayli Lynn scored unassisted goals for the Tigers in a win over the Lumberjacks in the season and Intermountain League opener for both schools at Timberlake High.

“We were able to move the ball pretty well and work on a new formation,” said Steve Michael, who is also the Timberlake girls coach. “We were working on some new stuff today, and it worked out for us.”

Timberlake travels to Priest River on Tuesday.

St. Maries travels to Bonners Ferry on Thursday.

First half — 1, TL, Kaylee Dockter (unassisted), 7:00. 2, TL, Hanna Larson (unassisted), 10:00. Second half — 3, TL, Kiersten Sawley (unassisted), 42:00. 4, TL, Kayli Lynn (unassisted), 46:00.

Shots on goal — SM 4, TL 20.

Saves — SM, Jenna Holder, 15; TL, Ella Nunn, 3.

- VOLLEYBALL

Post Falls

at Moscow

The match was rescheduled for Sept. 25.