Community School sophomore Gabi Perenchio, 15, missed home and missed her school in September during the time she spent three weeks at Miss Porter's boarding school for girls in Farmington, Conn.
She came home, re-enrolled at the Sun Valley independent school and rejoined coach Kelly Feldman's Cutthroat girls' soccer team. It took a while for Perenchio to get into shape and work through her various Achilles injuries. But she did.
And Perenchio, a strong kicker and relentless hustler, contributed big time Saturday for the Cutthroats at the State 3A tournament in Caldwell. She scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Bonners Ferry that gave Sun Valley its first ever State 3A consolation trophy.
That hard-fought victory, achieved one day after a 1-0 shutout of Teton on a second-half goal by senior Nellie Brown, gave Feldman's squad only the second state tourney hardware in school annals dating to the program's origin 1993. The Community School placed third at Buhl in 2003.
"Gabi stepped up and made a big difference," said Feldman.
Added Perenchio just moments after Saturday's big victory, "We are so excited, especially for our seniors." Brown also commented, "We put so much into this game. It feels amazing—an encouraging sign for next year's team and very satisfying for the seniors."
Satisfying, indeed, because few Community School girls' soccer teams have enjoyed the kind of late-season success that made Feldman's 2009 Cutthroats so impressive. They lost only once in their last 11 games, that loss 4-0 to eventual State 3A champion Payette in Thursday's opener at Vallivue.
The Cutthroats finished with a 15-5-2 record, second only to Feldman's 17-3-0 squad of 2007 in terms of best marks.
Third last year, Payette (13-4-2) kept the state title in southwestern Idaho, beating defending champ Fruitland (14-2-1) by a 3-2 (2 OT, 4-3 kicks) score in Saturday's title game.
Determined to avoid the two-and-out state fate of two of the last three Cutthroat state entries, Feldman's team bounced back Friday with an outstanding effort that ousted 2008 consolation champ Teton (15-4-2).
Feldman said, "I laid it on the seniors Friday, telling them it was up to them and their leadership. And it was just a battle against Teton." Fifteen minutes from the end, Brown lifted one of her powerful, long shots that just went into the net over the goalkeeper's fingers.
"It was so exhilarating," said Brown (17 goals), who scored goals in nine of the final 12 Cutthroat games to spark the homestretch surge. "It was such a high intensity game. We came out of the game all pumped up. I think it showed against Bonners Ferry."
Not right away, though. It was cold for the 9:30 a.m. match-up and the Cutthroats started that way. Feldman said the Badgers scored a soft, fluff goal by freshman Sarah Schuman in the opening minutes. Feldman gave the girls a few stern words that woke them up.
"Somehow it lit a charge and we decided we could play," said Feldman. Perenchio scored her first goal and third of the season for a 1-1 tie, and the Cutthroats had the crisp morning wind at their back after half.
And they dominated after half, outshooting the Badgers 14-3. Bonners Ferry senior goalkeeper Samantha Schmitz (10 saves after half) did everything in her power to salvage the tie, but Perenchio finally beat her. She raced down the right side, took aim and pounded a sharp-angled floater high into the Badgers net.
Then, Cutthroat keeper Josie Bunce stopped a legitimate threat by senior Kendra Johnson at 78 minutes to preserve the victory. And the Sun Valley defense of Kelly Hennessy, Hailey Rheinschild, Frannie Sensenbrenner and Emma Wilander was solid as a rock.
Brown said, "We were looking forward so much to coming down here to state and playing hard teams. Winning a trophy makes it extra special."
Feldman added, "The girls worked really hard and had such good chemistry. It was just a great group of girls."
Final team statistics: Community School 15-5-2 (7-2-1 home, 8-3-1 away, 10-1-1 league, #2 seed, league tournament champion) with 12 shutouts in 22 games. Goals scored: 80 (3.6). Goals against: 30 (1.4). Individual scoring: Erica Eshman 23 (41 career, tied #3 all-time), Nellie Brown 17 (29 career, #6 all time, score in 9 of final 12 games), Ellie Swanson 12, Freya Dickey 8, Hailey Rheinschild 5, Gabi Perenchio 4, Taylor Figge 3, Kelly Hennessy 2, Emma Wilander 2, Madison Murach 1, Kerry Lee Nelson 1, Ella Marks 1, Daniela Stokes 1.
