Friday, October 17, 2008

Cutthroat girls book another trip to state

4-1 win over Filer clinches Caldwell ticket


By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Passing well and finishing its shots, The Community School girls' soccer team played one of its best games of the season when it counted the most Tuesday. The result? The Sun Valley independent school's eighth straight trip to the State 3A soccer tourney.

Sophomore Emma Wilander scored twice to go with singles by junior Nellie Brown and freshman Teagen Palmer, lifting the #2-seeded Cutthroats (12-5-1) to a 4-1 victory over #3-seeded Filer (9-6-1) in the semi-finals of the High Desert Soccer Conference tournament.

The Community School's sixth straight win and 10th in the last 11 games by a 55-6 margin clinched a berth in the eight-team State 3A meet Oct. 23-25 at Caldwell. The other state entry from the High Desert is top-seeded Buhl (14-1-0), a 2-1 winner over #5 Bliss (5-8-1) in Tuesday's other semi-final.

Coach Kelly Feldman's Cutthroats, trying to defend their High Desert tournament title, traveled to Buhl Thursday for the league championship game.

Both Buhl and The Community School are going to state, but the winner of the rubber match between the two rivals will gain a better first-round state draw over in Caldwell.

For instance, Thursday's loser will play District 6 champ Shelley, a 3-2 overtime shootout winner over defending State 3A champion Teton (15-3-1) Wednesday. Thursday's winner will play a northern Idaho or Boise-area runner-up at state.

Playing two good teams back-to-back like Filer and Buhl this week should make the Cutthroats a better state tournament team, Feldman said. "We're not used to having to work so hard for it," said Feldman, whose team romped easily through the High Desert last year and fell flat at state.

The Fish were certainly hungry Tuesday.

On "Senior Night" the Cutthroats out-shot the Wildcats 19-6 and got a fine performance from freshman goalkeeper Josie Bunce (6 saves). Bunce made several timely stops early in Tuesday's home finale when Feldman's squad was setting the tempo on the Sagewillow Farms soccer pitch in Elkhorn.

Right after Bunce made a diving save in front of the Cutthroat net, the home team sprinted downfield and freshman Hailey Rheinschild crossed to Wilander, who headed a goal on the short side, with two minutes gone. Three minutes later, it was 2-0—two shots and two goals.

Senior sweeper Marin Shepardson started the play from her own end with a perfect through pass to Wilander, who dropped a pass to leading scorer Palmer (25 goals). Palmer spun to find a little space and hammered it home.

That 2-0 lead might have evaporated if not for defenders like Shepardson and senior Keller Gibson, and if not for keeper Bunce, who stopped a vicious shot by Filer's Candra Coelho at the 17-minute mark. Then, sophomore midfielder India Emerick crossed to Brown, who gathered the ball and fired it high into the net.

Brown's goal, at 30 minutes, and another Bunce save on senior Ari Wight's blast for the 'Cats made the halftime score 3-0 for the home team.

Filer's Amber Humphrey broke the 190-minute Wildcat scoreless drought against the Fish for a 3-1 game, but Wilander finalized the score at 4-1 at 53 minutes on a clearing ball from Kelly Hennessy and a brilliant lead pass by Palmer.

Coach Feldman said, "Filer is a solid team. We needed to come out ready to play. I felt we were pretty lucky to put up four goals. We moved the ball well and got good opportunities. Right now, we're playing well right now, and it seems we're healthy going into state."

Host Filer tried to stay alive Thursday with a loser-out High Desert game against Bliss.




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