District tournament update: Marsh Valley secures state berth, 2 more up spots still available to D5 teams
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EASTERN IDAHO — Marsh Valley punched its ticket to the state tournament Monday, beating Preston 3-1 in the 4A District 5 championship at Marsh Valley High School.
The Eagles (14-1-2, 10-0) join the Highland Rams (12-5-1, 5-0-1) as District 5 teams that earned a trophy at last year’s state tournament and punched their ticket for a return trip.
No. 1 Highland beat No. 3 Rigby (4-12-2, 1-3-2) 9-0 on Thursday to secure their bid.
The 6A state tournament will be played at Bonneville High School.
The Eagles added their name to the field for this month’s state tournament, which will be played Oct. 22-24, by winning the district title on Monday.
No. 1 Marsh Valley topped No. 3 Preston (12-5-1, 6-3-1) despite being turned away time and time again Monday.
While the Eagles continuously challenged the Preston defense throughout the first half, the district championship game went the half in a scoreless tie. Then Preston found the net in the 47th minute to open the scoring and take a lead.
Marsh Valley, though, answered quickly, tying the game 1-1 on a second-chance goal in the 55th minute.
With two more second-half goals, the Eagles took the lead in the 69th minute, then added some insurance in the 80th minute.
Senior Alyssa Kendall, junior Isabelle Bastain and sophomore McKenna Koester all scored goals for Marsh Valley, with Bastain adding a pair of assists.
State bids still up for grabs
Despite the loss, Preston is still in the hunt for a state bid.
They will play No. 2 Snake River (13-4-2, 7-2-1) Tuesday for second place in the district, which comes with a spot in the state tournament.
Snake River split three meetings this season, with Preston winning at home on Sept. 14, Snake River winning at home on Oct. 6, during the district tournament, and the two teams tying at Snake River on Sept. 30.
The 4A state tournament will be played at Twin Falls High School.
Pocatello is in a similar boat, with a chance to secure a state berth with a second-place finish at districts.
The No. 3 Thunder (13-4-2, 10-3-1) earned a spot in the second-place game of the 5A District 5-6 tournament by beating No. 4 Idaho Falls (10-6-2, 8-4-1) on penalty kicks, 5-4, Saturday.
Now they will face No. 2 Skyline (13-3-3, 10-1-3) for the right to join district champion Hillcrest (17-0-1, 12-0-1) Tuesday at Ravsten Stadium.
Pocatello and Skyline finished their Sept. 19 matchup in a 1-1 tie. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder in their other two games, including a 4-0 victory at Ravsten Stadium Thursday in a district semifinal affair.
The 5A state tournament will be played in Sandpoint.
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