Prep soccer teams from Hailey's Wood River High School and The Community School of Sun Valley tuned up for their post-season tournaments with a few games this past week:
Lopez lifts Hailey boys 3-2 over Knights
Wood River High School's leading scorer, senior Hector Lopez, came up big twice in three days for coach Luis Monjaras' boys' soccer team.
In stoppage time at Idaho Falls Saturday, Lopez (10 goals) cranked a free kick into the upper right hand corner of the net and gave the Wolverines a 3-2 victory over 2008 State 4A tournament entry Hillcrest.
Monday, Lopez's free kick 20 minutes into the second half lifted Wood River into a 1-1 tie with Twin Falls on "Senior Night" under the lights at Bruin Stadium's football field.
In both games, Wood River trailed 1-0 at halftime. The season-ending decisions stretched Hailey's unbeaten streak to 12 games since a 3-0 home loss to Jerome way back on Sept. 2.
This week, Wood River (11-1-3, 7-1-2 league, 23 points) was ranked second in the Idahosports.com poll of Idaho's best 4A boys' soccer teams, right behind 2008 state third-place Jerome (15-1-0, 8-1-0 league).
More importantly considering the State 4A tournament will be held in Caldwell Oct. 22-24—if Wood River makes it there as one of two Great Basin Conference qualifiers—the Wolverines are still unbeaten on the road with a 6-0-1 mark.
But Saturday's victory at Hillcrest (6-6-3) was costly, according to coach Monjaras.
Breaking his leg in a first-half collision was freshman Zack Freeman, who has played such an important part in Wood River's defense that has allowed just 16 goals in 15 games with six shutouts.
Down 1-0 at half, Wood River regrouped and tied it 1-1 five minutes after intermission on the first of two Lopez goals, from Luis "Freddy" Tamayo. Senior Morgan Pike put Wood River ahead 2-1 on a Lopez assist at 50 minutes, then Hillcrest equalized at 70 minutes.
Hillcrest had a chance to win with a free kick that hit the upright, then Lopez made good on his free kick at 80:48. Monjaras said, "Hillcrest had their chances and so did we." Wood River is now 5-0-2 in its series with Hillcrest dating to 2000.
With the defense still adjusting to Freeman's loss and two key players, Morgan Pike and Charlie Evans, sidelined with sickness, Wood River was delighted when Lopez banged home a 40-yard free kick at 60 minutes for Monday's 1-1 draw under the lights at Twin Falls.
"Twin Falls played really well on defense, but we still had our opportunities," he said.
Coach Monjaras had freshman Trevor Brand starting at the back of the defense, with junior Jake Freeman, Zack's older brother, stationed in the defensive midfielder position.
Monday's outcome didn't affect Wood River's second-seeded position in the Great Basin Conference tournament that begins Thursday, Oct. 8 with a pair of first-round games. Those games match #3-seeded Burley (7-4-4, 4-4-2) versus #6 Minico (3-9-5, 1-6-3), and Twin Falls (5-9-4, 1-5-4) meeting Canyon Ridge (3-8-4, 1-5-3).
Wood River will host the winner of Burley-Minico on Saturday, Oct. 10 as part of a South Valley Sports Complex doubleheader that will also feature the Wood River girls playing a second-round game on the Hailey pitch.
Early goals carry WRHS girls over Hillcrest 5-1
Two goals in the first three minutes by junior striker Tanner Dredge sparked the Wood River High School girls' varsity soccer team to a 5-1 non-league home win over the Hillcrest Knights Saturday in Hailey.
Dredge (27 goals season, 80 career) ended up with her fourth consecutive three-goal hat trick and fifth hat trick of the season. Sophomore Kaitana Martinez (11 goals) added two goals in Wood River's victory.
Wood River snapped a four-game winless streak dating back four seasons in games against Hillcrest. Dredge now has 15 hat tricks in her three seasons, and eight times has scored four or more goals.
First-year coach Jenni Conrad was encouraged with such a dominating effort against one of Idaho's best girls' soccer programs. She said after the game, "Hillcrest is a good team. We came out real strong in the first half and played very disciplined soccer.
"We've been working on keeping our focus through the entire game. Our speed and control of the ball was good today."
Wood River out-shot Hillcrest 17-7 and had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Dredge scored her first two goals at 57 seconds and 2:55, then Martinez took an Ellen Davis pass and made it 3-0 at 15 minutes.
Senior so-captain Ashley Hestness clanged a shot off the upright on a pass from senior co-captain Kelly Chapman early in the second half, then Hesteness made a nice lead pass that Martinez took in for her second goal of the game and a commanding 4-0 Wolverine lead at 49 minutes.
Dredge finished the Wood River scoring with a solo effort at 54 minutes. Hillcrest's Sarah McPherson bent a free kick into the top of the net at 70 minutes to prevent the shutout. Knights goalkeeper Taylor Hansen (10 saves) was busier than Hailey keeper Madison Gove (4 saves).
Wood River sophomore Sloan Storey earned the green jersey selected by the coaching staff. And 4A Sixth District champion Hillcrest (5-0-0 league) fell to 6-7-2 on the year.
Hillcrest coach Dave Coffman said, "I was disappointed with our first 15 minutes, but I thought Wood River's physicality caught us by surprise. We don't normally see that physicality and speed (in eastern Idaho) so it's fun coming over here for the challenge."
Ranked third in this week's Idahosports.com 4A girls' soccer poll behind defending state champion Bishop Kelly of Boise (13-0-1) and Century of Pocatello (13-2-1), Wood River extended its unbeaten boast to 12 games since a 2-1 setback at Century Aug. 29.
Conrad viewed the Hillcrest game as a good tune-up for Wood River's season-ending Great Basin Conference showdown against #4-ranked Twin Falls—a game that was postponed by snow and wet grounds Monday and Tuesday and rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7 on the Hailey pitch.
Wood River (11-2-1, 9-0-0 league, 27 points) needs a win or a tie against second-place Twin Falls (12-2-2, 8-1-0, 24 points) today to secure the regular-season league championship and homefield advantage for the six-team Great Basin tourney starting Thursday, Oct. 8. Wood River won the first meeting of the two teams 2-0.
Both Wood River and Twin Falls had earned first-round byes and will play their first GBC tournament games Saturday, Oct. 10 on their respective home fields. The Wolverines are 5-0-1 at home this season.
Wood River is the five-time defending Great Basin champ.
Cutthroat teams play to ties in Buhl snow
On snowy fields at Buhl, Community School boys' and girls soccer teams played to High Desert Soccer Conference ties Monday and looked ahead to today's "Senior Night" home games with Declo's Hornets.
Coach Kelly Feldman's Cutthroats girls (9-4-2, 8-1-2 league, 26 points) hoped they got the point they needed to clinch the tournament second seed over the #3-seeded Buhl Tribe (8-2-2, 7-2-1 league, 22 points). Buhl played at league-leading Filer (10-2-4, 8-0-2, 26 points) Tuesday.
Senior Nellie Brown (9 goals) scored the equalizer late in the game on a pass from senior Erica Eshman. Gabi Perenchio and Ella Marks also scored for the Cutthroats.
Friday, sophomore Hailey Rheinschild had a break-out game with her first three-goal hat trick as the Cutthroats posted their eighth shutout 4-0 over Wendell (5-8-0, 5-6-0 league, 15 points) on the Sagewillow Farms soccer pitch.
It was scoreless at half but the home team came through after intermission with three goals by Rheinschild and another tally by Nellie Brown. Brown and Eshman (2 assists) made passes to set up second-half goals. Senior defender Kayla Cloud starred.
The Cutthroats host Declo (1-10-3, 1-7-2) for their "Senior Night" today, Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Back on Sept. 15, the Cutthroats won at Declo 5-0.
In all likelihood, the Cutthroat girls will host Gooding or Declo in the first-round of the seven-school tournament Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. on the Sagewillow Farms field.
Boys settle for 2-2 draw
Coach Richard Whitelaw's Cutthroats are keeping their fingers crossed that Monday's 2-2 tie in the snow at Buhl might be enough to lift them into the fourth seed and a homefield match-up for Saturday's tournament first round.
The Cutthroats spent most of the game a man down after Tony Martin drew a red card in the third minute. Still, goals by Wyatt Bunce (6 goals season) and 18th birthday boy Tanner Flanigan (7 goals, 55 career) gave the Fish their fourth tie.
Flanigan's fantastic free kick with one minute remaining looked like the winner for the Cutthroats (3-7-4, 2-5-4 league, 10 points), but Buhl (2-7-2, 2-6-2, 8 points) equalized on its final kick of the game. Whitelaw's "Man of the Match" was defender Zach Lindahl.
On Friday at Browning Field, the Cutthroats dropped a 3-1 decision to visiting Wendell (8-3-3, 7-2-2 league, 23 points) despite the first-ever varsity goal by freshman Ben Kanellitsas. "Man of the Match" was senior captain Flanigan.
The Cutthroats host Declo (2-9-1, 2-7-1) today, Wednesday, Oct. 7 for "Senior Night" on the Elkhorn pitch. The two teams tied 1-1 Sept. 15.
Community School senior Erica Eshman (right), kicking the ball away from Filer’s Olivia Ragain during the 1-1 tie between the two teams Sept. 17 at Elkhorn, will lead her Cutthroats into this week’s High Desert Soccer Conference tournament. The Cutthroat girls host a home game Saturday.
