Charter boys, Timberlake girls win openers

POST FALLS — A berth in the 3A state tournament will be on the line for several area teams after opening-round victories in the Intermountain League District Soccer Tournament on Monday at The Fields at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls.

Friday’s boys semifinals will feature Coeur d’Alene Charter vs. top-seeded Timberlake at 4 p.m., with St. Maries and Bonners Ferry squaring off at 6 in the second semifinal.

In girls play, St. Maries will face top-seeded Coeur d’Alene Charter at 4 p.m., with Grangeville and Timberlake meeting at 6 in another semifinal.

BOYS

Coeur d’Alene Charter 3, Grangeville 1

The tournament-hosting Panthers (9-5-2) controlled the first half, then iced the win with a late goal from Jordan Gallegoes off Dennis Klein’s assist.

“We were able to get 23 shots on frame,” Charter coach Justin Nitti said. “We controlled the ball really well in the first half, then had a bit of a lull to start the second before Jordan’s goal helped us close it out.”

First-half goals from Klein and Lucca Correa earned the Panthers another shot at IML champions Timberlake (13-2-1), which topped Charter 2-1 in both regular season meetings.

“It’s a big one for us, and the boys are excited. Both teams should have a fighting chance,” Nitti said. “The three days of time for training and recuperation can help us, since Timberlake didn’t have to play today.”

Jesus Perez scored on a second-half free kick for Grangeville (4-9-2).

First half — 1. Char, Lucca Correa (unassisted) 21:00. 2. Char, Dennis Klein (unassisted) 25:00. Second half — 3. Gran, Jesus Perez (unassisted) 50:00. 4. Char, Jordan Gallegoes (Klein) 72:00.

Shots on goal — Gran 12, Char 23.

Saves — Char: Miles Taylor 11.

St. Maries 4, Priest River 0

Lance Hamblin had two goals and an assist as the Lumberjacks shut out the Spartans to advance into Friday’s second semifinal.

Connor Wolfe’s goal 13 minutes into the contest put St. Maries (7-5-3) ahead early, and Greyson Sands had nine saves to preserve the shutout.

“It was good to get that early goal, and nice to add one just before halftime,” St. Maries coach Chris Renaldo said. “Overall, the boys played well, and so did Priest River. It was a well-played soccer game.”

Jakia Irvine had 12 saves in goal for the Spartans.

First half — 1. SM, Connor Wolfe (unassisted) 13:00. 2. Cade Martin (Lance Hamblin) 40:00. Second half — 3. SM, Hamblin (Dylan Sotin) 53:00. 4. SM, Hamblin (Wolfe) 60:00

Shots on goal — PR 11, SM 19.

Saves — PR, Jakai Irvine 12; SM, Greyson Sands 9.

Bonners Ferry 5, Orofino 0

The Badgers led 1-0 at halftime, then tacked on three goals in a 10-minute span of the second half to defeat the Maniacs. Their defense smothered Orofino so much that Badgers goalkeeper Joshua Beazer never needed to make a save and only touched the ball twice.

Daniel Walker scored midway through the first and second halves for Bonners Ferry (14-2-1), which suffered one of its losses and its only tie against St. Maries during the regular season. The Badgers and Lumberjacks play for a state tournament berth on Friday evening.

“We’ll try to bring an up-tempo game against St. Maries,” Badgers coach Brycen Lunger said.

First half — 1. BF, Daniel Walker 20:00. Second half — 2. BF, Stephen Carlson 50:00. 3. BF, Ben Tadlock 55:00. 4. BF, Walker 60:00. 5. BF, Thomas Rivkin, 70:00.

GIRLS

St. Maries 2, Bonners Ferry 0

Bianney Ventura scored just before intermission to break a scoreless tie, then assisted on Kassidy Suchoski’s second-half goal to lead the fourth-seeded Lumberjacks past the fifth-seeded Badgers.

“(Bonners Ferry) is a young team and they came out very hard, but our girls have really been improving all season, and it showed today,” St. Maries coach Amber Morris said.

Jenna Holder had seven saves in the shutout, advancing the Lumberjacks (5-7-2) into Friday’s matchup with three-time defending champion Coeur d’Alene Charter (13-1).

“Like I told the girls, we’ve been playing well, and any team can win on any given day,” Morris said. “We’ll give it our best shot.”

Bonners Ferry senior Emily Sanchez had four saves for the Badgers (4-7-3).

“The girls played really well; the ball was in our possession for much of the game,” BFHS coch Emily Winebark said. “Morgan Burt and Emma Pinkerton had two quality shots on goal, but their keeper made the saves.”

First half — 1. SM, Bianney Ventura (unassisted) 40:00. Second half — 2. SM, Kassidy (Ventura), 52:00.

Shots on goal — BF 10, SM 10

Saves — BF, Emily Sanchez 4; SM, Jenna Holder 7, Macie Rimel 3.

Timberlake 3, Kellogg 1

Kayli Lynn and Isabel Hilliard scored goals late in the first half to send the No. 2-seeded Tigers past Kellogg and into Friday’s second semifinal.

“We had a real hard time adjusting to that field. It took longer than I wanted for us to get comfortable with the speed and size of that field,” Timberlake coach Steve Michael said. “But it’s a great facility, and we had great weather ... it was a great day for soccer.”

Ella Nunn had six saves in goal for the Tigers (8-6), who will face Grangeville for the second time in a week. Timberlake topped the Bulldogs 7-3 on Oct. 14 to close out the regular season.

Lora Allred scored late in the second half for Kellogg (1-10-2).

First half — 1. Timb, Kayli Lynn (unassisted) 30:00. 2. Timb, Issabel Hilliard (unassisted) 35:00. Second half — 3. Timb, Hadley West (unassisted) 74:00. 4. Kell, Lora Allred (unassisted) 79:00.

Shots on goal — Kell 6, Timb 14.

Saves — Kell, Erika Rose 8; Timb, Ella Nunn 6.