Lake City girls soccer overwhelms Sandpoint
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint senior Emi Lynch tries to accelerate past two Lake City defenders midway through the second half of the Bulldogs’ 2-0 road loss on Sept. 18.
HAYDEN — Sandpoint’s Lake City revenge game will have to wait another year.
The Bulldogs (6-2-0, 2-0 IEL) lost their second game of the season against Lake City on a rainy Sept. 18.
“Quite frankly, that’s the team I want to compete with,” Sandpoint head coach Conor Baranski said. “They’re always organized, Matt Ruchti is a great coach and they have great players, but so do we. So we should be able to compete. My frustration is that I didn’t think enough of our players competed enough.”
Unlike the first time the two teams met, the Bulldogs played on their heels at the start of the game, while the Timberwolves took several shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. They didn’t relent.
Sandpoint’s attack didn’t break through until the eighth minute, when Jordie Breeden — a constant on offense for the Bulldogs — overshot a streaking Hannah Eddy. Lake City’s back line made opportunities few and far between.
“From my perspective, at the start of the game, they were playing scared,” Baranski said. “They were playing not to mess up. I thought as a team, that’s how we reacted at the beginning. I thought that was detrimental to us, we wasted 10-15 minutes playing scared.”
Lake City got on the board in the 28th minute, then senior Madyson Smith turned around Sandpoint keeper Hattie Larson for another goal in the 60th.
Paradoxically, the defense was still firing on all cylinders despite playing down 2-0. Emma Thielbahr was glued to University of Idaho commit Maddy Lasher’s hip. Ditto for Holly Kassa, who was on College of Idaho commit Madyson Smith.
Throw in Kelsey Cessna’s aggressiveness and Alexa Zavala bringing a spark to open the second half, and the Bulldogs gave themselves opportunities to get back into the game.
“I thought Holly Kassa did excellently because she was playing primarily against Madyson Smith,” Baranski said. “But I’m lucky as a coach because nobody’s really not working.”
Sandpoint’s next home game is against Lakeland on Oct. 1 at Pine Street Field at 4 p.m.
First half — 1, LC, Lily Fletcher (Maddy Lasher), 28:00. Second half — 2, LC, Madyson Smith (unassisted), 60:00
Shots on goal — LC 8, SHS 9
Saves — LC, Hailey Jo Parks 8, SHS, Hattie Larson, 6