Such drama

Judging by the reactions of the winner and loser Saturday afternoon, the 5A Region I girls soccer championship match wasn’t any less suspenseful just because the teams had already secured state berths.

After all, it doesn’t matter what’s on the line when crosstown rivals tangle. Coeur d’Alene and Lake City couldn’t decide it in regulation or two 10-minute overtimes before Vikings goalie Christine Woeller stopped three kicks and her teammates outscored the Timberwolves to take the shootout 2-1 at CdA.

The state tournament begins Thursday in Meridian. The Vikings (11-5-3) face Mountain View (14-1-2) of Meridian and the Timberwolves (6-4-5) take on Boise (15-2-0).

Rachel Crawford, Hayley Smith and Whitney Wood each knocked in shots from the penalty kick stripe and Woeller essentially rolled a boulder in front of the goal.

Woeller, in fact, was hoping the match would go to a shootout after regulation.

“I’m less nervous in (shootouts),” Woeller said. “In practice, when we do PKs (penalty kicks), my teammates say I read their minds. I just try to stare down (the kicker). I can tell where they’re going sometimes.”

In a rather pedestrian first half, CdA took a 1-0 lead 16 minutes into the match when Sarah St. John hit a bender from 15 yards out that LC goalie Brianna Loper was shielded from.

“It looked like she mis-hit it,” LC coach Matt Ruchti said. “I know our goalie couldn’t see it. That stuff happens. You take opportunities and good things happen like that.”

LC came alive in the second half. The hard work paid off when Kellee Tilson’s kick from 11 yards sailed just high enough to elude Woeller. Tilson gathered in a long diagonal pass from Nicole Danner.

“We definitely took our opportunities in the second half,” Ruchti said. “We just could not find the back of the net.”

It appeared the Vikings were caught flat footed most of the final 40 minutes. Coach Tarragh Carr wondered how much of it was due to the fact CdA had to go to a second overtime to eliminate Lewiston on Wednesday before playing 100 minutes Saturday.

“Like I just finished telling the girls, I don’t necessarily think it was our prettiest game, but we did have to come out of it and show a lot of heart,” Carr said. “We saw them drop their heads a little bit. But I’m proud that they brought their heads back up. They fought through it. They showed a lot of courage to come back out and suck it up.”

Ruchti was encouraged by his team’s play after a rough 20-minute stretch in the first half.

“They definitely had the run of play in the first half and it showed,” he said. “I thought we changed the game entirely in the second half. I thought we were the better team in the second half and overtimes. We hit the post and their keeper makes a couple of great saves and we push it into (penalty kicks). At that point it’s anybody’s game.”

In the shootout, Ruchti elected to go with five seniors. Just one, Alex Jacobson, got the ball past Woeller.

“It’s a tough way to decide things,” Ruchti said. “But it’s got to come to an end. We picked five seniors. If I had to do it all over again I’d pick the same five. I’ve got total confidence in those kids. I have since they were freshmen.”

Carr said the match was great preparation for both teams for state.

“It’s a great game for both teams. Every game at state will be as hard if not harder, than what we’ve just gone through,” she said.

3A District I-II

Orofino 2, Bonners Ferry 1: A goal from Rebecca Pence 3 minutes into the second half was the difference as the Maniacs prevailed at Lakeland High School.

Kendra Johnson scored to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead three minutes into the match. But 6 minutes later, Rebecca Nameth tied it at 1-1.

Both teams advance to state, which begins Thursday at Vallivue High School in Caldwell. BF opens against Snake River and Orofino takes on Teton.