THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Time to prove both teams belong

It’s not going to be the ending either Coeur d’Alene or Lake City High signed up for in boys soccer.  

But, in a two-team soccer league such as the 6A Inland Empire League, it is what it is. 

At this time next week, someone’s season is going to end way too soon.

SINCE 2015, Lake City has appeared at state seven times, and advanced to a state play-in in 2020. 

Coeur d’Alene, which lost in a play-in last season, has been to state five times since 2015. 

The last time both teams advanced to state in 2022, they faced off in the first round, with the Vikings winning 1-0 at Hillcrest High in Ammon. 

“Whenever you bring Lake City and Coeur d’Alene boys soccer together, it’s going to be a big matchup,” first-year Coeur d’Alene coach Robbie Harmelink said. “It’s going to be an intense matchup.” 

The teams split matchups this season, with Coeur d’Alene winning 1-0 on the turf at Viking Field on Aug. 31 and Lake City winning 2-1 on Sept. 24 at home at the Irma Anderl Soccer Complex. 

“We think we’re the better team, but Lake City thinks differently,” Harmelink said. “We need to be able to control what we can control. If we can get out and dominate early, we can give ourselves a chance to win.” 

“Splitting matches gave us valuable insights,” first-year Lake City coach Chaz Donovan said. “We realized our positioning on the turf needs to be sharper, especially in terms of our transitions between defense and attack. This week, we’re focusing on improving our spatial awareness and communication to close those gaps and maintain better control of the game.” 

Post Falls, the other 6A school in the north, petitioned down to the 5A classification in boys and girls soccer only this year and next. Lewiston, the other member of the previous 5A IEL, dropped a division and is now in a classification with Moscow, Sandpoint and Lakeland.

Coeur d'Alene, as the No. 1 seed, gets to host Game 1 and Game 3, if necessary. Lake City, the No. 2 seed, hosts Game 2.

Game 1 is today at 1:30 p.m. at Viking Field, with Game 2 on Tuesday at the Irma Anderl Soccer Complex. Game 3, if necessary, is back at Viking Field next Thursday. 

“Playing at home in the second game does provide a certain edge,” Donovan said. “Regardless of the outcome Saturday, the familiarity of our home turf offers comfort and a chance to play to our strengths. If we secure a win (today), it boosts our confidence, knowing we can dictate the pace and style of play on grass in an elimination match.” 

Donovan has also coached club soccer in the Coeur d’Alene area for the past few years, with players ranging from his current Lake City squad to the boys at Coeur d’Alene. 

“I’ve seen firsthand their tenacity and teamwork,” Donovan said. “Their ability to stay composed under pressure and adapt quicky to changing game situations is impressive. They also exhibit strong technical skills and a deep understanding of the game, which makes them a formidable opponent on the field.” 

With Lake City’s girls earning the top seed over Coeur d’Alene, the sites are reversed in their series, which also begins today at 10:30 a.m. at Lake City High. 

WE KNEW that North Idaho College athletic teams were going to spend some time traveling this year with a return to the Scenic West Athletic Conference from the more regional-friendly Northwest Athletic Conference. 

Thursday, after the Cardinals had defeated in-state rival College of Southern Idaho, that’s where the fun began for the men’s and women’s soccer programs. 

NIC stayed in Twin Falls overnight, then left Friday at 3 a.m. to travel to Boise to fly to Oakland, Calif., before arriving in Reno, Nev., for today’s match against Truckee Meadows Community College. 

“I’ve heard that travel is non-stop when it happens,” NIC sophomore Kael McGowan said. “Everyone talks about how tough it is to be a student-athlete, but I never thought about it until two weeks ago when we started traveling for conference games. I’d be home for a day, then leave again. So, it was a real adjustment.” 

The Cardinal men’s basketball team is in Taylorsville, Utah, this weekend for a jamboree against other top NJCAA programs. The Cardinal women’s team will make the trip to Taylorsville for a jamboree next week. 

Then again, if you want to find postseason success, teams won’t find it sitting at home. 

NO OFFENSE to area high school athletic directors, but for whatever reason, those homecoming football games seem to take forever. 

Between the marching bands, halftime activities and an extended halftime to fit it all in, it can make for a longer-than-normal game. 

Last Friday’s game between Post Falls and visiting Battle Ground, Wash., at Trojan Stadium was anything but. 

Due to a shortage of high school officials, a Big Sky Conference crew, which was in the area to work last Saturday’s game between Northern Arizona and Idaho in Moscow, also officiated the Post Falls game, won by the Trojans 45-6. 

District 1 football commissioner Roger Stewart reached out to the crew, which was staying at a hotel in Coeur d'Alene on Friday, then traveling to Moscow for the game on Saturday. Stewart also officiates games in the Big Sky Conference.

Typically, high school crews have five officials on the field during games. Last Friday, there was seven in Post Falls. 

Just enough to keep things moving toward a real deadline-friendly finish for those that care about those kinds of things.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.