Sandpoint girls defeat Bishop Kelly for State 4A soccer championship

Sometimes to be a goalie you have to have the nerves of a daredevil. Just ask Sandpoint goalie Paige DuMars.

With Sandpoint nursing a 1-0 lead with 3 minutes, 29 seconds remaining, DuMars found herself on the backend of a 3-on-1 – the one, of course, being her and a net behind her.

DuMars didn’t have time to think. It was time for action.

She came out to try and cut down the angle, sliding toward the Bishop Kelly player who took a shot. The ball caromed off DuMars and harmlessly away.

It turned out to be Bishop Kelly’s last serious threat as the Bulldogs defended their State 4A championship in a rematch with the Knights from Boise, 1-0, at Coeur d’Alene High School on Saturday afternoon.

“That’s the biggest save of Paige DuMars’ life I’m pretty comfortable saying,” Sandpoint coach Conor Baranski said. “I always ask my keeper to make one or two saves a game and that was the only thing she needed to do. It’s really hard for a keeper to be that on point. To come out and save a 3-on-1 … that’s the play of the day.”

DuMars felt fortunate to deflect the ball away.

“I was surprised that I got it,” DuMars said.

It was Sandpoint’s sixth shutout at state the last two years.

It also was the fifth time in the last six years that the two teams have met in the title match.

Sandpoint (9-8-2) survived a frenetic 5 minutes when the Knights (15-4) finally brought most of their players into the offensive half hoping to find a crack in the Bulldogs’ defense.

People around the Sandpoint team told Baranski, almost apologetically, that expectations wouldn’t be as high this season. After all he had to replace nine seniors and two juniors who didn’t return. It’s almost as if Bulldogs followers were giving Baranski a pass this year.

He wouldn’t have anything of it.

“I kept saying that I refused to feel that way, that it wasn’t a rebuilding year,” Baranski said. “Yes we only had three seniors and yes we had three freshmen starting but I could tell there was more to it than that. It took them the better part of the season to start playing really good soccer. Look we got another state title. It’s so surreal.”

Sandpoint and BK battled to a scoreless tie at halftime. Defenses were taut, marking any player who wandered into the box. The first shot on goal didn’t occur until 10 minutes remained in the first half.

Two minutes had elapsed in the second half when Riley Couch lofted a corner kick in front of the goal and teammate Corinne Ariss vaulted and spun a header into the net from 7 yards out.

“I was just looking to get it in the net,” Ariss said. “We needed it. We got the momentum the last part of the first half and we carried it into the second half.”

Then Sandpoint’s defenders took over, led by Madi Schoening. Until the shot with just over 3 minutes remaining, the Knights couldn’t get loose for good shots.

5A girls: Coeur d’Alene blanked Eagle 4-0 in the consolation championship match in Idaho Falls.

5A boys: Idaho Falls clipped Lake City 2-1 in the 5A consolation championship match in Idaho Falls.

4A boys: Bishop Kelly beat Moscow 4-1 in the consolation championship match in Post Falls.