Area schools gearing up for new soccer season

Post Falls High School started fielding boys and girls soccer teams in 1996-97.

They have yet to qualify for state. But the Trojans boys and girls are closing the gap on the area powers. The teams should continue to make measurable strides this fall.

At Lakeland, meanwhile, the Hawks girls will be in the hunt to return to state after losing in a shootout for a berth last year. The Lakeland boys team will be inexperienced.

At Spirit Lake, Timberlake will field its first soccer team, beginning with the girls.

Here’s a look at the area teams.

Post Falls

Third-year girls coach Rob Rowe has much reason to be optimistic.

The Trojans (2-11-3 overall, 1-9-2 Inland Empire League) return 13 lettermen, including all 11 starters.

The Trojans are led by senior defender Charlie Evans, an all-league first-team pick last year, and sophomore forward Tareyn White, a second-team selection. Among some of the other top returners are senior Renee Tatom (midfielder), juniors Heidi Mueller (mf), Kacie Shields (mf) and Kara Siers (mf) and sophomores Hannah Slinkard (goalkeeper) and Stefanie Siers (mf/f).

Six freshmen logged considerable playing time last year.

“We’re still kind of young, but we’ve also matured,” Rowe said. “I think we have a chance to surprise some people. We’re not going to be somebody that’s going to be a pushover.”

Standing in the Trojans’ way of a big move up the league standings are traditional powers Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Lake City.

“We’re going to be a lot more competitive,” Rowe said. “But let’s be honest. Two years ago the state champ (CdA) came out of our league and we had teams finish third and fifth at state last year. We’re one of the best leagues in the state. So we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I don’t think any team is gong to be taking us lightly.”

The same could prove true for the boys.

They had their share of struggles last year, but coach Gabe Lawson has the Trojans (3-12-2, 2-8-2) headed in the right direction with six starters and three other lettermen returning.

“Of the last three years, this is the most exciting team we’ve had,” Lawson said.

Senior Griffen Hoerner (mf) leads the way. He was a first-team all-league pick last year. Also returning with experience are seniors Chad Mehalechko (f), Josh Martin (defender) and Nate Gonzales (gk) along with juniors Glenn Marves (f), Dalton Vanderpol (def) and Charlie Redline (def).

“We have a strong defense. We’ll be much stronger than we were last year,” Lawson said. “They’ve worked hard all summer. They came into tryouts strong and in shape. We have really good senior leadership.”

Post Falls will be chasing perennial powers Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene and Lake City.

Lakeland

Hawks girls coach Mario Maddy stopped short of saying his 2008 team can do what the ’05 team did – advance to the 4A state final.

Maddy has a wealth of experience, and the Hawks (2-12-3) won’t settle for anything less than a return to state. Lakeland and Moscow will square off to decide the region’s lone 4A state berth.

“We’re bonding as a team real well,” Maddy said. “We came up short in a shootout last year with Moscow. The girls know they need to work harder every day. We have a nice blend of upperclassmen and young kids.”

Leading the way will be junior Bailey Thompson (def), a second-team all-league selection last year. Others who will be heavily counted on are seniors Camille Reynolds (mf), Alexis Thompson (def), Danika Johnson (mf) and Liz Wolsfelt (f) and juniors Emily Stecker (mf) and Marissa Watson (f).

“The group we had in 2005 really started to get our program over the hump,” Maddy said. “The program is growing.”

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Lakeland’s boys.

“Five boys who started last year decided not to play this year,” Hawks coach Nick Haynes said. “Two are playing football and the other three decided not to do anything.”

Lakeland (1-14-2) returns four lettermen. The Hawks will be led by seniors Kirk Pentland (gk/mf) and Andy Coyle (f), the team’s only two seniors, and junior Caleb Thompson (mf).

“We have quite a few freshmen, but just a few seniors and sophomores,” Haynes said. “This is as young as we’ve been in a while. We have some good freshmen who turned out and another good group coming behind them. It’s going to be thin these next two years.”

The Lakeland girls and boys won’t be in the IEL in any sports this year. They will play an independent schedule.

Timberlake

The Tigers join the 3A Intermountain League. Timberlake targeted this fall as the year to launch a program because of a good influx of club-level players, coach Steve Michael said.

“One third of our players have club experience,” Michael said. “Another third have played but haven’t played in a few years. The remaining third are brand new players.”

The Tigers have three seniors, and the biggest class is freshmen (eight).

Players to watch include Michael’s daughter, Sierra, a freshman (f) who has played in the highly successful Coeur d’Alene Sting club program, senior Whitney Giera (f) and freshmen Alisha Kidd (f) and Kayla Bowers (mf).

“The first couple of games will be a learning experience for us,” the coach said. “Once they see how fast the pace of play is they’ll settle down and start learning their positions. I expect good things out of these girls.”