A pair of home shutouts got the 2011 prep soccer campaign off on the right foot for the Wood River High School girls' varsity squad this past week.
Wood River (2-0) debuted with a 3-0 non-conference triumph over The Community School Saturday at South Valley Sports Complex soccer field in Hailey, then added an easy 5-0 victory over Bonneville of Idaho Falls Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Wood River boys' varsity soccer team (0-1) dropped its season opener 3-1 to reigning State 4A champion Bonneville (2-0) Monday in the 94-degree heat of Idaho Falls.
Early scores jump-started both Wolverine girls' wins.
Playing The Community School Saturday in the first meeting of the county rivals in three years, Wood River wasted no time taking a 1-0 lead at the 24-second mark. Freshman Timber Kelly chipped home a shot from the right wing after passes from Haley Montgomery and senior Erin Murphy.
Murphy converted a lead pass from freshman Samantha Sutton for a 2-0 lead at 22 minutes, then sophomore Montgomery punched home the third goal after a Murphy cross pass at 35 minutes. For the game Wood River out-shot the Cutthroats 18-7. Senior goalkeeper Cheyenne Swanson made six saves for the shutout.
Community School coach Kelly Feldman said played much better in the scoreless second half and created several good scoring chances. Still, Wood River's control passing game put constant pressure on the Sun Valley defenders.
On Monday, Wood River outshot Bonneville 43-6 with Montgomery (13 shots) and senior Sloan Storey (14) drilling most of the good chances. The 5-0 final might have been more lopsided if not for five Wolverine shots that hit the crossbar.
Midfielder Sutton tallied her first varsity goal just 2:35 into the game on a Storey assist. Also notching her first goal was freshman Lucy Brannon at 22 minutes on a Timber Kelly feed. Montgomery made it 3-0 at the end of the first half with Storey earning a second assist.
Storey scored her first two goals of the season in the second half—the first on a build-up from Maggie Williams through Storey to Brannon on the right wing, finished by a drop pass from Montgomery to Storey, and the second on a pass from Sammy Sutton.
Wood River coach Jenni Conrad said Monday about her team's focus on quick little passes, "Our possession game is working really well and I'm so impressed with the composure of our freshmen. The combination passing we pulled off today was something to see."
The Wood River boys had a slower start at Bonneville and fell behind 3-0 at half. Coach Luis Monjaras said, "The kids were nervous and confused and we had a horrible first half—no communication on defense.
"In the second half we were better organized on defense. We scored in the 75th minute on a cross from Jeffrey Espejo. Zack Freeman made a nice run toward the goal and made the header. Overall, Bonneville out-shot us 10-6, although our shots were better on frame."
Wood River's boys crack open their Great Basin Conference league schedule today, Wednesday with a 4:30 p.m. home varsity contest against Minico of Rupert (1-0). The Wolverine girls travel to Minico (0-1) for a league game.
The Community School boys and girls opened their High Desert Soccer Conference slate Tuesday afternoon at Buhl.
WRHS, Cutthroat boys meet again on Sept. 17
Wood River High School activities director John Rade said Monday that the Wolverine boys and Community School boys will renew their rivalry with a non-conference varsity and junior varsity games on Saturday, Sept. 17 starting at 11 a.m. in Hailey.
It's the first time the schools have played boys' soccer since 2008. Wood River leads the 55-game series that dates back to 1983 by a 32-20-3 advantage.
Haley Montgomery of Wood River (left) and Hailey Rheinschild of The Community School had a good battle going all game Saturday during the season-opening 3-0 Wolverine victory on the Hailey pitch. Photo by Willy Cook
