Sandpoint stands alone

Sandpoint’s boys and girls pulled out victories, the only two of the eight North Idaho teams to have success in the first round Thursday of the state tournaments in southern Idaho.

The Bulldog boys reached the 4A semifinals with a wild 5-4 win over Skyview when Pike Wahl set up Tanner Williams 3 minutes into the second overtime. The girls rallied from a 2-0 first-half deficit to defeat Bishop Kelly 3-2 when Melinda VanDyk squeezed in a shot from a tight angle early into the first overtime.

In 5A, the Post Falls boys lost to Eagle 1-0 and Centennial dumped Coeur d’Alene 2-0. The Coeur d’Alene girls lost to Mountain View 2-1 and Boise defeated Lake City 3-1.

Bonners Ferry boys lost 1-0 to Teton and the girls fell 2-0 to Snake River in the 3A tournament.

4A

Jason Vasquez scored three goals, the last in the 62nd minute to give Skyview a 4-3 lead, but Sandpoint rebounded quickly with Jason Rink tying the game in the 70th minute on an assist from Zac Linscott.

Daniel Anderson scored for the Bulldogs in the first half, which ended with the score 1-1. Adam Crossingham gave Sandpoint a 2-1 lead in the 45th minute and tied the game at 3 with his second goal 15 minutes later.

In the second overtime, Wahl sent a through ball to Williams, who tapped it in when he beat the keeper to the ball.

The Bulldogs play Hillcrest, a 4-1 winner over Wood River, at 1 p.m. PDT today.

Meghan Pagano scored twice in the second half to rally the Sandpoint girls. She took a long ball from Alicia Mertz and converted from 18 yards for the first goal at 44 minutes. Then she fired a laser from 18 yards after a quick counter pass from Ellie Engle in the 77th minute.

VanDyk’s goal was more like a crossing pass, but it slipped just inside the near post.

Sandpoint faces Hillcrest at 1 p.m. today.

5A

Centennial’s Tito Solis scored from 30 yards out and Coeur d’Alene had a own goal to decide the defensive struggle. The Vikings managed only two shots on goal.

CdA faces Mt. View, which lost to Boise 2-1, in a loser-out game today at 9:30 at Rocky Mountain High School.

Post Falls plays Idaho Falls, a 3-0 loser to Borah, at the same time at Eagle High School. Trojans keeper Scott Benner made seven saves in the loss to Eagle but did not force his counterpart to make a save.

In girls games at Meridian, Nikki Webster scored for Lake City, but the Timberwolves did not force Boise keeper Kersey Hill to make another save. LC plays Skyline, which lost to Centennial 5-0, in a loser-out game today at 9:30 a.m.

CdA got a goal from Katy Suhr, but Shalese Miller countered with a pair of goals for Mountain View. The Vikings play Timberline, a 3-0 loser to Rocky Mountain, at 11:45 a.m.

3A

Omar Martinez gathered in a rebound off the crossbar and scored from 16 yards out in the 72nd minute to give Teton its win over the Bonners Ferry boys. Both teams had 12 shots and both keepers had seven saves.

The Badgers play Bliss, which fell to Weiser 3-0, in a loser-out game at 10 a.m. today.

The Badgers girls try to stay alive against Filer at the same time in the tournament at Vallivue HS. Filer lost to Fruitland 8-0.