Badger Boys Begin IML With Two Wins
The Bonners Ferry Boys Soccer Team opened IML play last week with a pair of victories, the first on Thursday at St. Maries, 2 – 1, and then at home Saturday with a convincing 5 – 0 win over Orofino.
The boys raised their overall record to 3 – 2 and 2 – 0 in league.
At St. Maries, the Lumberjacks were awarded a penalty kick in the 18th minute, which junior Ryan Kennelly converted to give them a 1 – 0 lead. While the Badgers dominated most of the action and controlled possession throughout, very few good scoring chances developed.
Finally, with three minutes left, in the 77th minute, when things were looking bleak, junior Andre Zarate fired a close- range shot that St. Maries keeper Judd Sempel couldn’t control, and the resulting rebound was slammed in by senior midfielder Alex Mendez to tie the game at one.
The ‘Jacks earned a corner kick after the ensuing kickoff, which goalkeeper Mat Evans collected and started a break the other way.
Senior midfielder Aaron Moe delivered a through-pass to Zarate just past midfield, which resulted in a one-on-one with Sempel, and after Zarate juked to the his left, he scored the game-winner with just over a minute left, giving the Badgers an improbable come-from-behind win.
On Saturday versus Orofino, the Badgers dominated from the start, with Zarate scoring the first of his three goals in the 6th minute to give Bonners a 1 – 0 lead. Zarate struck again right before half, with an assist from Mendez, giving the Badgers a 2 – 0 halftime lead.
Bonners added three second-half goals, with Zarate, Mendez, and senior forward Jesse Gondek converting to make the final 5 – 0.
The Badger back four defenders, senior Trevor Hampton, juniors Ken Pew and Hayden Wakkinen, and sophomore Keaton Tremble played their best game collectively as a unit, limiting the Maniacs to few scoring opportunites.
The Bonners Ferry Boys Soccer team hosts Priest River Thursday at 5 p.m. before traveling to St. George’s ( Spokane ) for a non-league match Friday.