Zander Moore crowned league MVP, five others receive honors

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Zander Moore scored 10 goals this season not eight.

SANDPOINT — After making it to the state tournament for the first time since 2017, the Sandpoint boys soccer team received plenty of all-league recognition.

Senior Zander Moore was awarded the league MVP, freshman Jett Longanecker was named Newcomer of the Year and four Bulldogs made the all-league team.

The 4A All-Inland Empire League team was released to the media Monday.

Seniors Chris Koch and Parker Prior and sophomores Evan Dickinson and Roman Jiles were the four players named to the all-league team.

Moore has been on varsity since his freshman year and he led the team on attack this season with a team-high 10 goals. Moore was also named to the all-league team as a sophomore and junior.

Moore plays with an attitude and passion that head coach Tanner French looks for in all his players and French said he's sad to see the forward go.

"This award was well-earned by Z this year," he wrote in an email. "Going into his last season, I believe he understood the willingness and hard work that this fall would demand and I am happy to see him succeed. He has a tenacious style of play."

Longanecker stepped in as a freshman on the Sandpoint backline and showed he was ready for the moment.

Longanecker had three assists this fall and French said he is a role model for others in the program.

"I don’t normally use incoming freshman as examples of hard work in my program, but Jett isn’t normal," he wrote. "Talk about freakish athleticism for his age. Jett is an outstanding young man and teammate, with a massive amount of potential. His drive to improve is extremely uncommon and I hope it gives the younger players in Sandpoint motivation and insight regarding program expectations."

Koch was named to the all-league team for the second straight season. He tallied five goals and one assist as a defensive midfielder.

Koch's character is unmatched and French said the senior should be proud of his play this fall.

"I have much to say about Chris and too much positivity to share in a brief segment," he wrote. "However, instructing Chris for the past two years has been extremely enjoyable. His attention to detail and influence on younger players is somewhat of a lost art, something I hope to restore with the help of upperclassmen such as Chris."

Prior, a defender, received league honors in his sole season on varsity. A couple of weeks ago, Prior thought he had suffered a season-ending injury, but he got a second opinion and returned to the pitch in the district title match against Moscow.

Prior overcame plenty of adversity this fall and French said he earned a spot on the all-league team.

"I’m really happy for Parker, as he is a very well-mannered young man that loves to compete," he wrote. "His role as a starting outside back was never relinquished until a possible season-ending injury, which gladly was short lived ... [For him] to earn this award simply shows that progress can take patience."

Dickinson, a captain on defense, earned all-league honors for the second straight season. When Dickinson was on the pitch this fall, the Bulldogs' defense worked as a unit and made life difficult for opposing teams on attack.

"Evan continues to improve in many facets of the game and I look forward to seeing the growth in his career," French wrote. "His leadership this year aided on many fronts and that will continue for years to come."

As the Bulldogs' starting goalkeeper, Jiles made over 50 saves this fall and helped the team secure four shutouts.

Jiles took a huge leap this season and will be a mainstay in net for years to come.

"Sometimes progress can happen very fast, and that was the case with Roman from last year," French wrote. "Goalkeeper is arguably the hardest position to play at times, as mistakes can lead to larger issues within a match setting, and that means you have to be mentally tough. Roman has proven to his teammates that age is a non-issue, and he came up huge multiple times throughout the season between the woodwork."

French was also named Coach of the Year and led the team to a 5-6-3 record.

"This award goes beyond our team’s record this season," he wrote. "It truly goes to my assistants Daniel Anderson and Anthony Fox, the players, the parents, the school administrators, and the custodians/groundskeepers who all play a part in the culmination of this program. I feel confident in our ability to reinstate our dominance in the 5A/4A IEL and the state of Idaho."