Coeur d'Alene High, Charter battle to draw in girls' soccer

COEUR d'ALENE — A quick goal by Coeur d'Alene Charter standout Sarah Hines helped the Coeur d'Alene High girls soccer team quickly forget about the Panthers' 3A classification.

The 5A Vikings matched up evenly with the four-time defending 3A state champions, with a late Olivia Wyatt goal giving Coeur d'Alene a 3-3 tie with Charter on Monday afternoon.

"Charter's really good; I would put them as one of the top teams in North Idaho, regardless of classification," Vikings coach Andy Vrendenburg said. "That first goal kind of caught us off guard. We responded well, and it was back-and-forth after that."

The teams were tied 2-2 at intermission when Charter's Rebecca Hines put the visitors ahead with a goal off Isabella Lucky's assist four minutes into the second half.

Charter (2-0-1) held its slim lead until the 80th minute of the game, when a long ball into the Panther defense caused "a jumble" around the penalty-box line, Vrendenburg said. Wyatt controlled the ball and beat goalkeeper Danica Nowak for the equalizer.

"Heartbreaking. I'm not going to lie, there are some times a tie feels like a loss. This is definitely one of those times," Charter coach Stacy Smith said. "I felt like we controlled most of the second half, and in the last 30 seconds of the game, it gets tied up due to a scramble and some miscommunication in the box.

"That being said, it was a great match. The girls worked their hearts out," Smith added. "We got to play a program with depth and some very strong, quick players, and we held our own against them."

Nowak had 15 saves for Charter, which hosts the Post Falls varsity Thursday at The Fields at Real Life Ministries soccer complex.

Wyatt had two goals and goalkeeper Jaylene Ziegler had 16 saves for Coeur d'Alene (2-0-2), which travels to Sandpoint on Thursday.

First half — 1. Charter, Sarah Hines (Danika Nowak), 1:00. 2. Cd'A, Olivia Wyatt (Tierra Lambert), 10:00. 3. Cd'A, Elise Frasier (penalty kick), 20:00. 4. Charter, Isabella Lucky (unassisted), 24:00.

Second half — 5. Charter, Rebecca Hines (Isabella Lucky), 44:00. 6. Cd'A, Wyatt (unassisted) 89:00.

Shots on goal — Charter 18, Cd'A 20.

Saves — Charter, Danica Nowak 15; Cd'A, Jaylene Ziegler 16.