Lake City Earns Soccer Title

The Lake City High boys soccer team needed a tie in its final league match Monday to capture the North Idaho Soccer League championship.

Despite the fact Lake City and Sandpoint entered the match undefeated, Sandpoint needed a victory to win the crown outright.

It ended in a 2-2 tie.

Advantage Lake City.

But it took a goal in the final minute for LC to escape with the conference title. A free kick from 35 yards out by Dan Clark had too much top spin and was tailing away from Sandpoint’s standout goalie, Dave Nickodemus, as it found the left corner of the net.

LC concludes league at 11-0-3 in league, 13-0-3 overall. Sandpoint pauses before the postseason tourney at 10-0-4, 13-0-4.

The teams played to a scoreless tie in their earlier league match. Monday’s match was a remake of a rainout last week.

Neither team has much time to glory or sulk over Monday’s outcome. North Idaho Cup play begins today with four loser-out matches.

Top-seeded LC will play host to No. 8 Bonners Ferry (0-12-1); No. 2 Sandpoint entertains No. 7 Post Falls (1-11-2); No. 6 Lewiston (3-12-1) travels to No. 3 Coeur d’Alene (9-5-2); and No. 5 Lakeland (6-8-0) goes to No. 4 Moscow (10-4-1). All matches begin at 5 p.m.

The winners advance to matches on Thursday, and Thursday’s survivors meet in the championship match Saturday at Post Falls Junior High School.

Monday’s match had a dramatic ending and beginning.

First the ending. LC’s tying goal was needed after Sandpoint took a 2-1 lead in the 85th minute.

Charles Wells’ free kick from right of the net and 30 yards away broke a 1-1 tie that had stood for 61 minutes. The referee awarded a free kick after LC defender Noah Beck tackled the Bulldogs’ J.P. Huguenin, who was streaking up the sideline.

The crowd of 300 at Memorial Stadium erupted, sensing a league championship was just 5 minutes away.

And considering Nickodemus had allowed less than one goal a game - he played the second half after Ben Benson started the first half - the Bulldogs faithful had reason to celebrate.

But the match continued beyond the running clock limit of 90 minutes due to a couple of stoppages for injuries and balls bouncing well out of bounds.

According to the running time, Clark’s league-title-clinching goal came 2 minutes beyond the 90-minute mark.

“A long watch,” Sandpoint coach Ed Bock said. “They’ve got a great team and we’ve got a great team. It was a great match between two real good teams.”

Sandpoint not only tied LC twice but also had two sister-kissers with Coeur d’Alene.

If both teams advance as seeded, they’ll meet in the championship. And that match can’t end in a tie so it would be appropriate if the teams meet in a rubber game.

“I’ve got to let my heart calm down,” LC coach Jim Facciano said as he took deep breaths after celebrating with his players. “It’s hard to win up here. With their (noisy) crowd and the intensity, I told my players at halftime to just calm down. We didn’t come up here to play for a tie, but when we were down 2-1 that’s exactly what we wanted.”

Sandpoint swiftly grabbed momentum by the throat 2 minutes into the match when Chris Vanderford took a nice pass from Jason Campbell and beat LC goalie David Hill one-on-one.

But LC countered 22 minutes later when former Sandpoint player Bo Conley took a breakaway pass from Clark for thetying goal.

Lake City 2, Sandpoint 2

First half-1, Sandpoint, Vanderford (Campbell), 2:00. 2, Lake City, Conley (Clark), 24:00. Second half-3, Sandpoint, Wells, 85:00. 4, Lake City, Clark, 89:00.

Shots on goal-Lake City 14, Sandpoint 10. Saves-Lake City, Hill 8. Sandpoint, Benson 1, Nickodemus 4.

Softball

Coeur d’Alene 11, Lakeland 1

Kelli Babcock hit a bases-loaded double in the fourth inning as the Vikings ripped the Hawks for eight runs en route to victory.

The Vikings’ Blake Hoorelbeke, who hit a solo home run in the third, improved her record to 10-2 by pitching a three-hitter.

CDA 111 080 0 - 11 10 2

Lakeland 001 000 0 - 1 3 2

Hoorelbeke and Bellinger (6) and K.Babcock; M.Hall, T,Hall (5) and Tweedy. W-Hoorelbeke (10-2). L-M.Hall.

HITS: CDA P.Stranger 2, Hoorelbeke 2, Orr, Dodds, K.Babcock, Tatum, A.Stranger, Lenz. Lakeland - Tweedy, Foster, Huber. 2B-K.Babcock. HR-Hoorelbeke.

, DataTimes