District tournament update: Marsh Valley, Preston, Highland advance with wins; Pocatello survives elimination game

EASTERN IDAHO — After two days of playoff soccer, the state championship aspirations of eight District 5 girls teams are alive.

Highland, Pocatello, Marsh Valley and Preston all won Tuesday to earn a spot in their respective district tournament winners’ brackets, while American Falls, Aberdeen, Malad and Snake River will all play in Thursday’s 4A elimination round. The Century Diamondbacks were eliminated in Tuesday’s 5A opening round with a 10-0 loss to Skyline.

6A

The Rams (11-5-1, 5-0-1) carry the No. 1 seed in the 6A District 5-6 tournament and held serve Tuesday, beating No. 4 Thunder Ridge (4-13, 1-5) 7-0.

Highland, last year’s state 6A consolation champion, advances to Thursday’s district championship game, when they will host No. 3 Rigby (4-11-2, 1-3-2). The Rams beat the Trojans 2-0 at Rigby on Oct. 1. The two teams ties, 1-1, when they met at Highland High School on Sept. 15.

The 6A District 5-6 tournament gets 1.5 state berths, meaning the district champ will qualify for the tournament while the runner-up will have to play in the state play-in round. The 6A state tournament will be played at Bonneville High School.

5A

The No. 7 Diamondbacks (2-15, 2-12) saw their season come to an end Tuesday with a 10-0 loss to No. 2 Skyline.

No. 3 Pocatello (13-3-1, 10-3-1) bested No. 6 Bonneville (3-14, 3-11), 9-1, claiming one of four spots in the 5A District 5-6 tournament semifinals.

The Thunder are the No. 5-ranked 5A team in the state, according to MaxPreps. They will face the No. 4-ranked Skyline Grizzlies Thursday at Ravsten Stadium, with a spot in the district championship game on the line.

With the district owning 2 full state berths, the champion will be joined by the runner-up at the state tournament, which begins on Oct. 22 in Sandpoint.

4A

The 4A District 5 tournament began Monday, when No. 6 Aberdeen (2-12, 1-9) beat No. 5 Malad (2-12-1, 2-8), 2-1, at Marsh Valley High School. On the same day at the same venue, No. 3 Preston (12-4-1, 6-3-1) beat No. 4 American Falls (3-13, 3-7), 10-1.

Preston backed their victory up with a 4-0 win over No. 2 Snake River (11-4-2, 7-2-1) on Tuesday. Aberdeen could not do the same, succumbing to No. 1 Marsh Valley (14-1-2, 10-0) by a 9-0 final.

The host Eagles, who finished second at last year’s state tournament and claimed their program’s first-ever state trophy, will face Preston on Monday with the district championship on the line. Marsh Valley won both meetings between the two teams this season, by scores of 3-0 and 4-1.

American Falls will face Aberdeen, and Malad will face Snake River on Thursday in the loser’s bracket, though the 4A District 5 tournament will send just one team to the state tournament.

This year’s 4A state tournament will be played at Twin Falls High School.