Girls’ state soccer update: Marsh Valley, Sugar-Salem rematch set; D5/6 teams go 6-2 in opening round

EASTERN IDAHO — District 5-6 teams went 6-2 Thursday in the first round of the Idaho High School girls’ Soccer State Championships, setting up several very intriguing second-round games.

Among the four Friday semifinal games involving at least one eastern Idaho team will be a rematch of last year’s 4A championship game. There will also be a rematch from last year’s 5A tourney.

Only Preston, who lost to Sugar-Salem, and Highland, who fell to the 6A classification’s top seed, will play a second-round elimination game.

Sugar-Salem cruises past Preston with huge second half

The top-seeded Diggers (16-1-2) challenged No. 8 Preston (13-6-2) and goalie Claira Smith over and over in the first half. But Smith was up to the challenge, turning away shot after shot.

Eventually, the Diggers did find the back of the net when junior Hadley Chambers got one past Smith’s outstretched arm from nearly 40 yards out.

That sent the game into the half with the Diggers up 1-0. And the small lead stood where it was for an additional 30 minutes during a lightning delay.

Sugar-Salem head coach Scott Terry was impressed by Smith, saying after the game that he and his team discussed during halftime how well they had done in the first 40 minutes, creating great scoring chances and putting good shots on goal.

“We created a lot of high-quality chances,” the coach told EastIdahoSports.com. “We were joking at halftime, wondering how, exactly, expected goals are calculated … because we were thinking that our expected goals had to be about five or six at least.”

Terry said that his team kept creating those opportunities in the second half, but did a better job of getting the ball past Smith, scoring four times after halftime to earn a 5-0 win.

The Diggers made some small adjustments during the extended break, but didn’t want to change much given the number of good shots they created in the first 40 minutes. The only significant change, Terry said, was playing with more space, keeping from letting the field be compacted around the ball.

Senior Andee Petterson led the Sugar-Salem second-half surge with two goals.

With the win, the Diggers set up a rematch of last year’s 4A championship game. They will face No. 4 Marsh Valley.

“It’s going to be fun,” Terry said of his team’s upcoming game against the Eagles. “This is why you play the state tournament: to play great teams. They’re a team that — I’m surprised they’re on our side of the bracket, with how great they are. I would have thought they’d be a higher seed, because of the season they’ve had. … We’re excited for a chance to play them.”

Eagles power through McCall-Donnelly

The Eagles (16-1-2) lost 4-0 to the Diggers in last season’s 4A state championship game, surrendering Sugar-Salem’s third title in as many years. The two budding rivals battled twice this season, resulting in a 2-1 Digger victory at Marsh Valley on Aug. 27, and a 1-1 tie at Sugar-Salem on Sept. 4.

Now, the two teams will meet for the fourth time in 12 months after Marsh Valley topped No. 5 McCall-Donnelly (14-3-1) 4-2 on Thursday.

The Eagles got a hat trick from leading scorer Isabelle Bastain, pushing her season total to 32. Addie Stoor added a moonshot goal in the 33rd minute.

Defensively, Marsh Valley held the Vandals off the scoreboard until the 69th minute, when Winzer Albright cashed in from nearly 40 yards out.

McCall-Donnelly added another goal in the game’s closing minutes, after several Eagle starters were lifted to focus on their showdown with Sugar-Salem.

Hillcrest and Pocatello set up their own rematch

The Digger-Eagle showdown will not be the only state tournament rematch from a year ago. After their wins on Thursday, No. 2 Hillcrest (18-0-1) will face No. 6 Pocatello (15-5-2) Friday as the 5A state tournament continues at the Field of Dreams in Sandpoint.

The Knights topped No. 7 Sandpoint 3-0, while Pocatello bested No. 3 Wood River 4-0.

Hillcrest beat the Thunder 3-1 in the 5A third-place game last year, then welcomed Pocatello to the High Country Conference this year, beating them two more times during the regular season this year. As the rivalry intensifies, the two teams will meet on Friday in the 5A semis.

Friday’s winner will guarantee a trophy and play for the championship on Saturday. The loser will battle for third place on Saturday.

Skyline advances into semis with shutout of Moscow

The No. 4 Grizzlies (15-3-3) will face No. 1 Twin Falls (15-1-2) Friday after beating No. 5 Moscow (9-4-1) 4-0 on Thursday. Since a Sept. 12 loss to Highland, Skyline has gone 8-0-2 in games against teams other than Hillcrest — who has beaten them twice in that time.

A Skyline win would guarantee an all-eastern Idaho title game.

Highland falls 3-1 to top-seeded Timberline

No. 8 Highland (12-6-1) finds itself in the same situation it battled out of last year, en route to a consolation championship, after falling 3-1 to No. 1 Timberline (17-0-2).

The Rams will face No. 5 Coeur d’Alene (9-5-1) in an elimination game on Friday when the 6A tournament continues at Bonneville High School.

Teton tops Kimberly in upset

No. 6 Teton (11-5-2) earned the only 4A upset of the day, beating No. 3 Kimberly (17-2) 2-1.

RELATED | No. 6 Teton rides strong first half to upset win over No. 3 Kimberly

Lucy Carlson and Hallie Brown each scored a goal for the Timberwolves, claiming a 2-0 halftime lead. But after dominating possession in the first half, Teton could not keep Kimberly from returning the favor in the second half.

The Bulldogs got one goal back in the opening minute of the second half, but Teton held the line the rest of the way en route to a 2-1 win.

Teton will face No. 2 Fruitland (16-0-3) on Friday.