The tradition has been set as Sugar-Salem eyes a 3-peat state championship

SUGAR-CITY – Tradition doesn’t graduate.

It’s a simple but highly effective principle that drives every sports program at Sugar-Salem.

You win a state title but graduate half your team?

Celebrate the championship, hang the banner, and then move on.

No excuses.

No down years.

Underclassmen will be waiting in the wings to step up next season and be ready to play at the varsity level.

And they’ll be prepared to win.

It’s a bold vision to live by, but judging by all of the championship banners in Sugar-Salem’s gym, it works.

Which brings us to the Diggers’ girls soccer team.

Until recently, the program’s tradition has been that of a team that is good, but was still chasing the elusive blue trophy.

There was a stretch from 2018-2020 where the Diggers made three straight 3A state title matches, only to run into powerhouse Coeur d’Alene Charter, which went on to win five consecutive titles, sweeping up Sugar-Salem in its wake all three times.

The Diggers went on to persevere and win state trophies, but it was 2023 before they finally earned that first banner.

They earned a second title in 2024 and enter the new season with sights set on their own 3-peat.

Tradition doesn’t graduate

“After you graduate, we still have the same goals, the same mindset, same work ethic, no matter who’s in the program,” coach Scott Terry said. “We still work the same way. Our upperclassmen, even though there’s only a few of them, they’ve still done a great job of keeping the tradition of taking care of our teammates and making sure everyone is keeping the high standard at practice, and that we’re continuing to work toward the goals we have.”

Terry noted that the foundation for a successful program has been set and part of the goal is to make sure nobody gets lackadaisical or takes anything for granted.

Off-season conditioning and weight training have been a big part of the program’s development.

“We’ve come in, even with a lot of young players in some spots, it’s clear that they’ve already caught the vision of what we want to accomplish and do,” Terry said.

And no one is shying away from that 3-peat.

“We have a lot of expectations because we won state the last two years,” said junior Andee Petterson, a two-time, first-team All-State selection. “I think we have a lot of returners coming back … coach always says we have one goal and that’s to win a state banner or else we’re not happy. That’s always our vision and our goal and we look to make it happen again this year.”

The Diggers graduated All-State defenders Isabelle Tuttle and Ava Rydalch, as well as All-State keeper Nika Nead.

Most teams would have a hard time replacing those key pieces off a championship team, but, as someone once said, tradition doesn’t graduate.

“We’re a lot younger and a little more inexperienced (than last year), but I think it’s different in a good way … you always have people step up,” Petterson said.

“It’s kind of amazing,” senior Alice Johansen added. “We have a lot of new players and it’s been hard and challenging for them because we have girls replacing the older ones who graduated, and as we kept practicing every day, I saw a lot of improvement and it’s been amazing to see them learn so much.”

On the field, the Diggers will have newcomers on the defensive side, including senior Katie Rushforth, who has some big shoes to fill, replacing Nead at goalkeeper. Nead allowed just seven goals in 20 games last season.

Offensively, the Diggers shouldn’t miss a beat with 4A State Player of the Year Kamryn Teichert returning after scoring a state-leading 58 goals to go with 17 assists last year as a junior.

Petterson finished last season with 32 goals and 28 assists.

“We’re confident we can score goals,” Terry noted.

Accordingly, Sugar-Salem won its first two games of the season by a combined score of 18-2.

“Each year I can see so much improvement,” Teichert said. “The younger girls, the freshmen and sophomores, I feel like they’re at a much higher level than I was coming in as a freshman.”

How it all fits together to make another championship run is yet to be seen.

Terry said he still thinks about those players that got so close to winning a state title, but came up just short.

Teichert said she remembers it well.

Her older sister Morgan played on the 2019 team that lost in the state championship game to juggernaut Coeur d’Alene Charter.

“That team worked so hard and was so close to winning that state title,” she said. “I’m really grateful that we’ve had that opportunity, because not very many schools get that opportunity to even make it to the state championship … I feel over the past couple of years we’ve improved so much.

“Now we’re that team. We’re the team people want to beat.”