FALL SPORTS REVIEW: Sandpoint girls soccer thinks back-to-back state titles are in the cards

LAST SEASON: 11-5-3, 4A District 1-2 Championships, 4A State Champions. Key wins over Moscow (2), Lake City (2), Lakeland (2), Skyline, Pocatello, Bishop Kelly.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lilliana Brinkmeier, sr.; Cecilia Dignan, jr.; Hope Barnes, jr.; Marlee McCrum, sr; Ava Glahe, jr.; Maddie Mitchell, sr.; Mackenzie Mitchell, jr.; Hope Barnes, jr.; Ayla Hull, sr.

Can senior Marlee McCrum and the Sandpoint High Bulldogs whip up some more magic this year? First-year head coach Alan Brinkmeier, in his 14th season on the girls soccer staff, thinks there is a good chance.

Sandpoint lost a couple of key seniors, but so has Moscow, as well as Post Falls and Lewiston, who will be joining what is now the 5A Inland Empire League this season. Coach Brinkmeier said in his opinion, longtime rival Lakeland will be a bit more of a challenge this year.

“I think we have a great chance of going No. 1 out of districts or, worst case, No. 2 where we have to compete in a play-in game for state,” coach Brinkmeier said. “I have a good feeling about this season and I know the girls are pumped up to play their home games under the lights at Memorial.”

The Lady Bulldogs return all five of their defenders from last season. Juniors Ava Glahe and Mackenzie Mitchell, who both scored goals in a 2-0 win over Pocatello in the 4A State Semifinals, are two players to keep an eye on. Glahe was a 4A All-IEL First Team selection and 4A All-State honorable mention last season while Mitchell nabbed 4A All-State First Team honors. Junior Cecilia Dignan, an All-IEL First Team selection and all-state first team honors recipient and senior Maddie Mitchell, an all-state first team selection, also return. 

Coach Brinkmeier said the biggest keys to success this season will be keeping all his defenders healthy and limiting their playing time when possible, especially when the Lady Bulldogs play four games in five days at the beginning of October.

Offensively, McCrum, who scored the game-winning goal during the 79th minute in the state championship game against Bishop Kelly in 2023, also returns for Lady Bulldogs.

“Marlee is good either on the outside or up the middle,” Brinkmeier said. “I’m hoping to stay with a 4-3-3 with Marlee on the outside as a threat, especially with her dribbling skills. I would say she is top two on our team in terms of dribbling.”

Another player to watch out for this season is junior Hope Barnes. Last year, she had three goals and four assists in a 10-0 win over Post Falls, three goals in a 14-0 win over Stillwater Christian, and scored a goal in a crucial 2-0 win over Lakeland.

Coach Brinkmeier said he is hopeful that a couple of players who recently moved into town will also be contributors on the offensive end.

“I’m hoping that our offensive prowess will be a lot more this year, where we are not winning by just one goal and squeaking by games,” coach Brinkmeier said.

Senior Lilliana Brinkmeier, daughter of coach Brinkmeier, will be in between the posts for the Lady Bulldogs. Brinkmeier is a 2023 All-IEL First Team selection and All-State Second Team honors recipient who had several crucial saves last year for Sandpoint, including a couple of late one-on-one saves in the state title game against Bishop Kelly.

“Luckily in Sandpoint, we have not really had to worry about our goalkeepers; we have always had solid goalkeepers coming through the program,” coach Brinkmeier said. “We’re lucky we don’t have to worry about that position because there are so many high schools that do.”

Brinkmeier said although nervous as a first-year head coach, he remains confident with the coaching staff that’s behind him, one he believes is one of the best in Idaho in terms of playing and coaching experience. Joining the coaching staff for her first year is 2015 Sandpoint High graduate Aislynn Robertson, who recently coached two years of soccer at Vista Ridge High in Colorado Springs, Colo. Former Sandpoint High standout Madi Schoening returns as an assistant coach for her fourth season. A fun fact about Schoening is, the last time the Sandpoint High girls’ soccer team won back-to-back state titles, she was on the team. In 2013 and 2014, when Schoening was a sophomore and junior, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Bishop Kelly 1-0 to snap the Knights’ 89-game unbeaten streak, and then defeated the Knights 1-0 again the following year.

“I’m hopeful that we can continue the momentum that Conor (Baranski) and all have put in place over the past 13 years,” coach Brinkmeier said. “Hopefully they keep up the same enthusiasm — the motivation — to keep Sandpoint High School at the peak they have always been at. That’s what we're striving for, what these two are striving for (Schoening and Robertson), and I’m sure the girls feel the same way.”

SHS GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE

8/24 — vs. Lake City, 7 p.m.

8/26 — @ Post Falls, 4 p.m.

9/4 — @ Moscow, 4:30 p.m.

9/5 — vs. Coeur d’Alene, 6 p.m.

9/10 — vs. Lakeland, 6:30 p.m.

9/12 — vs. Lake City, 6:30 p.m.

9/14 — @ Lewiston, 2 p.m.

9/17 — vs. Post Falls, 6:30 p.m.

9/26 — vs. Moscow, 4:30 p.m.

9/28 — vs. Lewiston, 12 p.m.

10/1 — @ Coeur d’Alene, 6:30 p.m.

10/3 — @ Lakeland, 4 p.m.

10/4 — vs. Mead, 6:30 p.m.

10/5 — @ Lake City, 1 p.m.

    Sandpoint High junior Ava Glahe looks to make a throw-in for the Bulldogs during a home game last season.