Kirk’s four goals lead Vikings to IEL win over T-Wolves

Lake City High boys soccer coach Adriano Eva stopped just short of saying his team was beat long before it took the field against its cross-town rival Tuesday.

Eva’s hunch was on the bull’s-eye, though, as Coeur d’Alene jumped out early and rode that momentum to a 5-1 victory in an Inland Empire League match at the Irma Anderl Complex.

“Apart from the fact that they played a fine match, they came to the game a lot more mentally ready than we were,” Eva said of the Vikings, who improved to 5-2-1 overall and 3-0-1 in league. “We were flat. In a game like this a lot is played here – in your mind and your attitude. You either have it or you don’t, even before the match starts. They were pumped up before the game. Eric (Louis, the CdA coach) got them ready not only technically but psychologically. That’s important.”

Spearheading CdA’s fast start was senior midfielder KC Kirk, who is developing a pattern of scoring goals in bunches.

Kirk was responsible for CdA’s first four goals, and he more than doubled his season total. He had a hat trick in a 5-0 non-league win over St. George’s earlier this month.

“I don’t know what’s wrong this year,” Kirk said, smiling. “I did it (scored in bunches) last spring for Sting (club soccer). I usually don’t do this. Usually the goals are a little more spread out.”

Kirk’s first goal 10 minutes into the match came from 7 yards out from the right angle on a pass from senior midfielder Joe Hanich.

Three minutes later, Kirk put the Viks ahead 2-0 when he took advantage of a free kick by Trey Leonard.

“He’s a streak player,” Louis said of Kirk. “One of his frustrations is missing opportunities. So we got on him about that. We know he’s a production player. You can treat a production player in a way that says, ‘You’ve got to be there’ when the opportunity presents itself. He’s a good listener. He knew he had to take it to the next level and he did.”

LC (5-2-1, 2-2-0) had an opportunity to impede CdA’s momentum after Kirk’s second goal when sophomore forward Pat Jewell attempted a penalty kick, but missed wide right.

The T-Wolves scored their lone goal at the 20-minute mark when junior forward Cody Steele found the net moments before injuring a knee. Steele left the match and never returned.

The Viks, who possessed the ball much of the opening 40 minutes, used two more goals from Kirk to build a 4-1 lead by intermission.

Three minutes into the second half, sophomore Justin Honsaker finished CdA’s scoring on a point-blank kick from 20 yards out as Hanich picked up his second assist.

“We were pumped all day,” Kirk said. “Lake City wasn’t pumped at all. They were pretty cocky before the game and we just wanted to beat them.”

The intra-city rivals will meet in the second of their two league matches Oct. 7 at CdA.

Louis was pleased to see his team’s quick start Tuesday.

“We’ve known all year long that we have the talent to take control of any game we play,” Louis said. “We’ve just been slow out of the gate. There hasn’t been a game we had more than one goal in the first half until (Tuesday).”

CdA returns to action Thursday when it plays host to perennial power Sandpoint. The Viks fell 1-0 in a season-opening, non-league game against Sandpoint.