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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

CdA plays lights out under lights

Mike Saunders Correspondent

Call the first Inland Empire League girls soccer match played under the lights “A Tale of Two Halves.”

The visiting Coeur d’Alene Vikings (8-1, 4-0) came out hot, put up four first-half goals and then hung on for a physical 5-2 win over Lake City Wednesday.

In front of a vocal crowd estimated at 400 gathered at the LCHS football field, Coeur d’Alene senior forward Jaimee Myers opened the scoring in the fifth minute and added what would become the game winner on a penalty kick 6 minutes later.

Myers said she and her teammates were fired up like never before – in part because it was Lake City and in part because of the added drama of the crowd and the lights.

“We had a really good warm-up and so our offense just kicked in,” Myers said. “We saw each other scoring and that helped a lot.

“It was a huge game for us – we even had a pre-game meal at my house this afternoon; it was huge.”

Coeur d’Alene coach Tarragh Carr called her team’s first half “amazing.”

“I think we handled our nerves extremely well, and I think that showed out on the field,” Carr said. “Perhaps Lake City didn’t handle their nerves as well.

“This was a huge game for these girls – on a football field, under the lights, at night with, obviously, hundreds of people that we would never see before.”

The second half, however, was a different story.

“Lake City stepped it up and unfortunately we didn’t go with them,” Carr said.

Indeed, after spending almost the entire first half in their end, the Timberwolves (5-4-1 overall, 1-3 IEL) came to life in the second, battling for every ball and outscoring the Vikings 2-1 on a pair of almost identical goals from junior forward Arica Johnson.

Johnson tallied twice on gently arcing shots over the goalkeeper from a seemingly impossible angle about 15 yards out near the left corner.

Johnson’s play wasn’t the only positive Lake City coach Matt Ruchti saw from his team – though he would have preferred a faster start.

“We need to make sure we’re more focused at the beginning and that we kind of harness that emotion a little better, like they did,” Ruchti said. “That was the dictator in this game in that first half – they came to play and they put their opportunities away … it was all desire.

“In the second half, we came out and knocked the ball around and knocked some players around just like we do in practice – there was really no need for a motivational speech at halftime. They knew what they needed to do.”

Ruchti downplayed the venue’s effect on his team’s play.

“We don’t make excuses – it didn’t affect them, and it sure as heck didn’t affect us,” Ruchti said. “We need to come to play – it doesn’t matter what field you play on.

“I think it’s a great atmosphere – every high school kid should experience something like this.”

Junior midfielder Carmen Reyes added two goals and an assist for the Vikings, who play host to Sandpoint today at 4.