Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Valley girls go rather quietly at state soccer

Wolverines, Cutthroats face tough opponents


By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Wood River Valley girls' soccer teams discovered last weekend that the competition is getting tougher and tougher at the State 4A and 3A soccer tournaments in Meridian.

High rankings for the Wood River High School and Community School girls' squads during the 2006 season didn't get much respect from their foes at state—and both teams came home empty-handed.

Judging by three days of action ending Saturday, there's a good argument to be made that Idaho soccer is getting better and more physical, and also that the pendulum is swinging away from the sport's traditional Boise-area dominance.

Wood River (17-3-1) played all three Boise-area 4A teams entered in the eight-team meet and won only one game, 3-1 over #3-seeded Emmett Friday. Saturday's championship, however, featured two eastern Idaho teams—repeat champ Century of Pocatello and upstart Hillcrest of Idaho Falls.

The Community School (9-4-2) never got to play a Boise-area school because it sputtered on offense and went two-and-out against eventual 3A runner-up Marsh Valley of Arimo and Shelley, both from eastern Idaho. Third District power McCall-Donnelly beat Marsh Valley 2-1 (OT) in the final.

So, two teams from northern Idaho (Sandpoint boys and Coeur d'Alene girls), two from the Boise area (McCall girls and Mountain View boys) and two from eastern Idaho (Teton boys and Century girls) took home the 2006 championships.

Parity, anyone?

Wolverine girls go 1-2

Coach Greg Gvozdas' Wolverine girls lost to top-ranked Bishop Kelly 3-0 Thursday, beat Emmett 3-1 Friday and were flat-footed in Saturday's 6-2 consolation championship loss to Skyview's Hawks of Nampa.

Third-place Bishop Kelly (19-3) out-shot the Wolverines 18-7 and got all the goals the Knights needed when a pair of long Jessi Hoyt shots beat Hailey keeper Caiti Leo (7 saves) in the first 42 minutes. Leo did make fine saves to keep it close.

Having been shut out for two straight games, Wood River got on the board Friday midway through the first half against Emmett (12-6-2). A nice build-up from Laura Elgee to Ellen Ard to Elsa Sweek resulted in Sweek being hauled down in the box. Kaitlin Gasenica made the penalty kick.

Sophomore Aimee Evans then scored twice. She made a very composed move using teammate Tara Cappel as a shield for a 2-0 lead before half.

Evans provided Wood River with insurance at 3-1 on a pass from Brianna Hull-Mullins at the 61-minute mark. The Wolverines out-shot Emmett 14-5 and keeper Leo (5 saves) was sharp when it counted.

Gasenica said, "We had a mind-set of win or go home—and we chose to win. We didn't have the pre-game jitters we had against Bishop Kelly. It was calmer and we did what we know how to do. We had to keep the pressure on and have everybody playing at the top of their game."

That wasn't the case against Skyview, playing in its first state tourney compared to 12 state visits and two titles for Wood River's program.

Wood River's defense had no answer for the speed and left foot of soph Domonique Alston. She served a perfect ball to senior Ashley Page for a header and 1-0 Hawks lead, then Alston beat the defense for two rapid-fire goals and a 3-0 cushion with 24 minutes gone. Skyview out-shot Wood River 15-2 in the first half and 19-11 for the game.

The Wolverines salvaged some pride when Kacie Femling passed to Evans, who made a nice cross to Tara Cappel for the first Hailey goal and a 4-1 deficit. Evans (3 goals tourney) hammered home a well-placed ground ball on a 19-yard direct kick for the 6-2 final score.

Final Wood River girls stats: 17-3-1 overall record (9-1-1 home, 8-2 away, 6-0 league); fourth consecutive district tournament championship. Offense: 86 goals (4.1). Defense: 18 goals (0.9), 11 shutouts.

Individual scoring: Aimee Evans 19 goals, Sam Johnson 15, Brianna Hull-Mullins 11, Delaney Fox 10, Kaitlin Gasenica 7, Hannah Fuller 6, Elsa Sweek 5, Calley Brown 4, Tara Cappel 3, Danielle Smith 2, Ellen Ard 1, 3 own goals. Three-year scoring: Hull-Mullins 19 goals, Gasenica 17, Brown 12. Two-year scoring: Johnson 30, Evans 29.

Cutthroats can't find their offense

Coach Kelly Feldman's Cutthroat girls left their offense in the Wood River Valley. They managed only a handful of shots in 2-0 and 3-1 state losses to Marsh Valley and Shelley.

Marsh Valley's quick defense led by seniors Jessica Buxton and Andrea Swann was too tough and the Eagles scored both of their goals in the first 20 minutes. Marsh Valley (17-1-3) went on to blank Orofino 1-0 and lost an overtime thriller to McCall in Saturday's finale.

Against the Shelley Russets (12-9-3) Saturday the Cutthroats equalized 1-1 at half when leading scorer Cody Curran took advantage of Shelley's keeper going down and scored late in the first half.

But Russet junior Mikayla Cowley completed her hat trick in the second half—and Grayson Palmer's late barrage of shots couldn't find the net.

Feldman said her defense led by Emily Eshman did some good things but the attack never got going.

Final Community School girls stats: 9-4-2 overall record (6-1-1 home, 3-3 away, 7-0 league); first place Fourth District 3A tournament for a third straight year. Offense: 73 goals (4.9). Defense: 23 goals (1.5), 4 shutouts.

Individual scoring: Cody Curran 16 goals, Jazz Campbell 8, Grayson Palmer 8, Mandy Alexander 7, Jessie Curran 7, Hannah Hennessy 5, Lexie duPont 5, Chloe Lynn 4, Maddie duPont 3, Erica Eshman 2, Krista Detwiler 2, Maddie Kate Curry 2, Rian Ervin 1, Nellie Brown 1, Emily Eshman 1, Sara Berman 1. Three-year scoring: Cody Curran 24 goals, Sara Berman 17.




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