'That's soccer'

SANDPOINT — A lot of people around Sandpoint have used the words “that’s soccer” to sum up the Sandpoint boys tough-to-stomach 1-0 loss to Lakeland in a shootout during the 4A Region 1 championship.

For those who might have missed it, the Bulldogs thoroughly dominated the Hawks in every way, shape and form, except where it mattered most — on the scoreboard.

Had Sandpoint dominated the Hawks in a similar fashion on the football field, the score would have been something along the lines of 63-3. Lakeland had trouble getting the ball past midfield, and a large majority of the game was played in front of their own goal. Alas, the back of the Hawks’ net never rippled until the penalty kick shootout, where they edged the Bulldogs.

While small consolation, the Bulldogs can take solace in the fact they had an excellent season. As the sports editor covering Bulldog soccer for the past eight years, this is one of the two best teams I’ve covered, the other a squad three years ago that, ironically, also lost at districts.

Winning the state tournament seems the easy part for the Bulldogs, it’s surviving districts and making it to state that presents the toughest challenge recently.

North Idaho is sending a grossly inferior team to represent the district at the state tournament, which stinks. Nothing against the Hawks, who should get much credit for pulling off a huge upset, but they’ll be lucky to win a game in Caldwell, while the Bulldogs would have been the clear favorite to defend their state title.

I remember Randy Thoreson, who needs two hands to count the state championship teams he’s coached, telling me a story of a similar loss years ago. Arguably his best team ever thoroughly dominated an inferior opponent, but lost 1-0 on a fluke goal. I remember him telling me you don’t get points for style.

A great goalie is always a big equalizer on the pitch. Sandpoint was clearly the better team across the board, but a hot Lakeland goalie negated a clear edge in talent by turning away great look after great look after great look. Like an ace pitcher, one player can have a tremendous impact on the final outcome of a team game.

Luck also plays a big factor in soccer. The Bulldogs had many high quality looks at goals, narrowly missing every time. More than any sport I can think of, the better team doesn’t always win in soccer.

And I have no idea what the protocol is, but I was disappointed to see the Bulldogs not shake Lakeland’s hand after the game.

Brutal loss or not, I think a post-game handshake should be mandatory in every high school sport. Heck, I think it should be mandatory in every sport, regardless of the level.

It’s a show of respect for your opponent, a show of sportsmanship, and speaks to the essence of sports.