Judging by the State 3A girls' soccer tournament bracket, it's a little early to be sure about whether Buhl or The Community School was the true winner of last Thursday's High Desert Soccer Conference championship game in Buhl.
Certainly Idaho's 3A top-ranked Buhl (14-1-1, 68-15 goals against) emerged triumphant 4-3 behind four goals by its prolific senior striker Autumn Yturbe (165 goals career). Emma Wilander (2 goals) and Maddie duPont tallied goals for the #2-ranked Cutthroats (12-6-1, 73-29 goals against).
Both teams showed why they have qualified for the eight-team State 3A tournament Oct. 23-25 in Caldwell. But Buhl's rubber match win over the Cutthroats also firmed up the seedings and brackets for this week's Idaho High School Activities Association tourney.
With its win, Buhl matches up with last year's State 3A runner-up Fruitland in Thursday's 11 a.m. first-rounder at Vallivue High. In the same bracket are Boise-area champion Payette (8-4-4), last year's third-place finisher, and Snake River of Moreland (11-1-5).
By losing to Buhl, The Community School drew Shelley for the second straight year as its first-round game at state. Last year Shelley blanked the Cutthroats 1-0 in the first round and the Russets eventually lost in the third-place game in an overtime shootout to Payette.
So, Shelley (7-6-4, 30-29 goals against) is something of a known quantity to coach Kelly Feldman's Cutthroats.
Nonetheless everybody was a bit surprised that Shelley snuck past defending State 3A champion Teton of Driggs in last Wednesday's Sixth District championship. Shelley was a 3-2 overtime shootout winner over Teton (17-3-1, 48-9 goals against) after the teams played to their second straight 0-0 tie after regulation time.
"I think we'll be able to play with Shelley," said Feldman. "Shelley is getting better all the time, but they still don't have that one big scorer like Buhl has. But really, I'm glad it's not Teton in the first round."
The Community School is making its eighth straight state appearance. Assuming the Cutthroats beat Shelley in Thursday's 2 p.m. first-round game, they would advance to play the winner of Teton against Bonners Ferry (10-7-1) on Friday at 2 p.m. If the Cutthroats lose Thursday, they meet the Teton-Bonners Ferry loser Friday at 11 a.m. at Vallivue.
Championship game is Saturday at 2 p.m. preceded by consolation and third-place finals at 11 a.m. Six of the eight teams are returning to state from last year's meet, only Filer and Orofino missing the trip this time. Payette and Teton are the only ones with state titles since the IHSAA began sanctioning soccer in 2000.
Feldman continues to be impressed with how well her young team (4 seniors, 4 juniors, 7 sophomores, 4 freshmen) is responding to challenges. The Cutthroats led Buhl 2-1 at halftime and 3-1 in the second half of Thursday's HDSC title game before Yturbe performed her game-winning heroics.
"The girls are playing very well," said Feldman, whose Cutthroats have won 10 of their last 12 games, falling only to Twin Falls 2-0 and to Buhl.
She added, "At Buhl the atmosphere was really like a state tournament. On a hot day, in a super intense game before a big crowd of Buhl rooters, we had a 3-1 lead. It came down to youth and inexperience. But Emma was outstanding, Madison Murach played a great game on the outside and Marin (Shepardson) played well."
Community School senior Mattie Griswold passes the ball during a Cutthroat home game this fall. Photo by David N. Seelig
