Running on high octane offensively, The Community School boys varsity soccer team has been virtually scoring at will this season, averaging over five goals a game for 15th-year coach Richard Whitelaw.
In contrast, the Wood River High School varsity has had great difficulty putting the ball in the net. The Wolverines rely on defense and just have to stop another team's top scorer to have a chance at winning.
So, the 5-1 outcome of Saturday's Community School-Wood River grudge match at Elkhorn's Browning Field wasn't too surprising. The Cutthroats scored early and often and ran their season mark to 10-1-1.
The Community School (7-0-1 league) is ranked second in the Idahosports.com boys' soccer poll, behind Bliss (9-0-1, 7-0-1 league). The two teams will square off for league championship Oct. 4 at Bliss.
"We haven't had that kind of record since 2002," said Whitelaw after Saturday's game, which attracted hundreds of fans to Browning Field. That 18-1 season was the last time the Cutthroats beat the Wolverines, having endured five straight losses since.
Junior forward Travis Stone continued his torrid scoring for the Cutthroats with a three-goal "hat trick" against Wood River (3-8-1).
Stone (42 career goals) has scored in 10 of 12 games this season and has 21 goals, equaling his scoring total for his first two Cutthroat campaigns. He passed John Hayes (41) and moved into fourth place on the all-time scoring list behind Josh Stanek (94), Sean Higgins (76) and Benji Hill (75).
Stone scored twice in the first 14 minutes as the Cutthroats grabbed a 3-0 lead. The home team out-shot Wood River 10-4 in the first half, 17-11 for the game, and put tons of pressure on freshman keeper Colter Brehmer (12 saves).
"We had our moments," said Whitelaw. "Up 3-nil, we stopped playing for a while but certainly had control in the second half and dominated. It was good for the seniors. They had never beaten Wood River."
The first goal came at the four-minute mark when Connor Brown's corner kick rattled around in the box and freshman striker Tanner Flanigan (7 goals) deflected a shot into the net off a Wolverine player. A couple of perfectly executed lead passes from Caleb Sonneland led to Stone's first two goals, at 12 and 14 minutes.
Fueled by the constant hustle of junior co-captain Ross Parsons, Wood River refused to fold and scored its only goal at 26 minutes. Ben Gourlay's free kick from midfield found a seam in the Cutthroat defense and freshman Morgan Pike chipped it home for a 3-1 game.
Coach Farrell Swain's Wolverines would have settled for a two-goal difference going into half, but the Cutthroats were relentless. A Max Harris cross ended up in a header goal by senior captain Ryon Campbell at 36 minutes, making it 4-1. Campbell's physical play made him "Man of the Match," Whitelaw said.
Alden Remington gave Stone an excellent pass for the hat trick midway through the second half. Wood River came alive after the half and created good scoring opportunities, but Cutthroat senior goalkeeper Regan O'Reilly made big saves.
It was The Community School's fourth soccer game in six days, all wins by an 18-1 margin. The Cutthroats are on a school trip, but resume Monday, Oct. 2 at Filer. Whitelaw appreciated his team's effort in a demanding week.
"Sometimes we ask a lot of the kids, with school and then to play four games in six days," he said. "But it will be good for the kids to go away on their school trip knowing they have beaten Wood River."
With Saturday's victory over Wood River the Cutthroats are now 12-12-1 against the Wolverines on their home field in the 53-game series dating back to 1983. Wood River leads 31-19-3, but the Cutthroats have a 110-107 scoring edge.
Friday afternoon the Cutthroats downed Declo 3-0 in league play as sophomore Eddy Albarran, Stone and Max Harris scored. Whitelaw played many of his younger players. "Man of the Match" was stopper/sweeper Sid Parkhill.
Meanwhile, Wood River (1-2 league) hosts the Minico Spartans Thursday, Sept. 28 and Jerome on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. in an effort to nail down the second seed in the Great Basin Conference West for the upcoming league tournament.
Community School senior midfielder and co-captain Caleb Sonneland (left) goes toe-to-toe with Wood River junior Erwin Roman. Sonneland assisted on the second and third Sun Valley goals in the first half of the 5-1 Cutthroat victory. Photo by Willy Cook
