Sanders, Hawks arrive

There have been a lot of firsts for the Lakeland girls soccer team this season.

Last week was the first time the Hawks did as well as a tie against Sandpoint. Tuesday, the upstart squad from the other side of the Rathdrum Prairie knocked off Lake City for the first time.

So it only stands to reason this is the first time Lakeland is getting any widespread respect in the local soccer community.

Senior co-captain Shawna Sanders won’t tell you that respect is overdue, but she will say that it’s right on time.

“It just comes out of determination, I guess,” Sanders said. “Me and (junior teammate) Kayla Stiegemeier just decided to put our foot down and work hard in practice and show the younger girls the way.

“Last year we had a lot of freshmen on our team, and this year they’ve kind of grown up.”

She said hers is the vocal role in the motivational tandem.

“In practice, I’ll say something to the rest of the team and Kayla will be like ‘Yeah, Shawna, yeah!’ ” said Sanders, a one-time transfer from Timberlake who sat out last season after a pair of knee surgeries. “Or whenever we do anything she’ll whisper, ‘Hey, Shawna, tell them this.’ “

That sort of encouragement is just what a team such as Lakeland (8-4-2) needs heading into district play next week. Depending on the result of a Moscow match on Saturday, the Hawks could earn a rare home match in the opening round.

The encouragement goes both ways. As a result of the ACL injuries and subsequent surgeries, Sanders has had periods of limited speed and acceleration. She said her teammates have helped her through those tough times.

“It slowed me down a lot, and I had to depend on other players,” said Sanders, who plans on attending North Idaho College this fall, playing soccer and studying nursing. “I wasn’t able to sprint for a while, because I had some clicks in my knees.”

Her team has tucked away a little extra motivation heading into postseason play.

“We’ve saved some newspaper clippings of what some other coaches have had to say about us,” she said. “I won’t name names, but we’re planning on breaking them out when we play those teams and using them to help fire us up.”