Nothing but the best
After cruising through Inland Empire League play undefeated, there’s only one way the Sandpoint High girls soccer team – particularly the Bulldogs’ seniors – can see the season concluding.
Anything less than a 4A state championship would be unacceptable. Especially after falling in a shootout in the state semifinals to eventual champ Century last year. That loss kept five of Sandpoint’s 10 seniors from being able to claim four state titles in four years.
“Going through (league) undefeated is very gratifying, but it would be great to go out with a state title,” said Bulldogs defender Elle Carne.
Finishing as state champions will mean much more to the seniors than the state title two years ago or the one Kylie France, Abby Jensen, Angie Menghini, Allison Gilles and Margo Lane were a part of as freshmen.
“Most of us have been together since we started playing (club) together in fifth grade,” said defender Brooke Donnelly.
For all but three of the seniors – France (midfielder/forward), Jensen (midfielder) and Carne – the trip to state next week will mark the end of their careers. France, Jensen and Carne plan to pursue opportunities to play in college.
Menghini (forward), Gillis (forward), Lane (defender), Donnelly, Jessica Myers (defender), Kasey McKitrick (defender) and Courtney Wood (defender) are down to their final three matches of competitive soccer.
So the Bulldogs, who went 10-0-2 in league, stepped up their intensity in state-qualifying matches this week. A 5-2 victory over Moscow on Wednesday earned Sandpoint (15-2-3) the top seed to state from the region. State will be held Oct. 28-30 in Boise.
All except Wood have started most games this fall. Wood most likely would have been a starter, too, but she suffered a broken foot in a summer-ending tournament and has had to sit out the season.
Coach Adam Tajan made sure Wood remained a part of the team’s season by installing her as the team manager.
“The chemistry has been phenomenal,” Tajan said. “They’re a blue-collar group. They all work very hard in and out of the season. It’s a pretty game when they’re clicking.”
France and Jensen, both four-year starters, and Carne, an immovable force on defense, have been at the head of the Bulldogs’ pack in work ethic and leadership. France led the team in scoring in the regular season with 14 goals and seven assists. Jensen tied with sophomore Katie Adams for second in scoring with eight goals on a team in which five players have scored five or more goals. Gillis led in assists with eight.
Carne and McKitrick, the league’s defender of the year last fall, have anchored a new four-person defensive formation this season.
“Elle brings a physical presence that makes her so valuable,” Tajan said. “She’s our most physical player. And she’s so composed. She also brings a calming presence.”
Carne said the Bulldogs’ strength isn’t natural athletic ability – although the team possesses plenty of it.
“Our biggest strength is our chemistry,” Carne said.
Tajan calls France, who could be the heaviest recruited of the three with aspirations to play in college, a “soccer junkie.”
“It’s her passion,” Tajan said. “She goes out in the summer on her own or calls up some of her buddies to play. She knows how hard you have to work to get things done.”
Tajan said France’s knowledge of the game and abilities separate her from most of her peers.
“She has great speed and technical ability,” he said. “She reads the game so well on the field.”
Jensen, meanwhile, is the link between the defense and the offense.
“She’s the creator,” Tajan said. “She plays with a lot of fluidity. She also brings a bit of an attitude. She’s real intense about soccer. You need a few players out there who have an attitude.”
Perhaps the team’s inspirational story is Lane. She played as a freshman, but knee injuries and four surgeries kept her from playing on the high school and club teams in 2002-03.
She probably shouldn’t have played this fall, either. She’s played through pain this season and hopes to make it one more week on her knee.
“It’s special and a privilege to be on the team,” Lane said. “The best part is just being on the team with my friends. We’re like sisters; we’re all best friends and love each other.”
It’s a shared feeling and something that will likely carry the Bulldogs to the fulfillment of their dream.
“We’ve just got to go to state and work our hardest and not save anything,” Jensen said. “We’ve got to play every game like it’s our last game.”
Added Menghini: “We’ve worked so hard every year. It would be cool to end our playing together with a state title. It would mean so much more.”