Badgers defeat Timberlake, head to state
<p>Badger defender Collin Stone stretches to disrupt a drive by Timberlake’s Vance Kistler at the 3A District championship game Oct. 16.</p>
The Bonners Ferry Badger boys soccer team defeated the Timberlake Tigers 2-1 Thursday, Oct. 16 to win the District I-II championship and advance to the Idaho State 3A Soccer Tournament which begins today in Twin Falls.
The Badgers will face District IV runner-up Wendell at 10 a.m. PST in the quarterfinals at the Sunway Soccer Complex.
After a scoreless first half where the Badgers dominated possession but created few scoring opportunities, the Tigers’ Thomas Hauck headed in a loose ball in front of the Badger goal and past junior goalkeeper Caleb Blackmore in the 44th minute.
Bonners Ferry responded in the 55th minute when junior midfielder Tucker Dirks stripped Tiger keeper Shawn Kirby of the ball and fired from 12 yards out to tie the game at one.
Both teams had a few scoring chances in the last 20 minutes but were unable to convert.
After a 20 minute scoreless overtime session, the game was to be decided by penalty kicks, where each team alternates taking five kicks from the 12-yard spot.
The Tigers’ Cody Bentley scored first, then senior midfielder Collin Stone equalized with a well-placed shot to the lower left corner.
After the Tigers’ second player drilled his shot off the crossbar, Badger sophomore defender Elijah Price calmly beat Kirby to the left to give Bonners a 2-1 edge.
The Tigers’ third player converted, which left senior defender Trevor Pew needing to score to maintain the lead, which he did after Kirby partially deflected the shot.
The fourth round of kicks saw Blackmore save a shot right at him, meaning that Bonners had to convert on only one of their last two to win.
Junior midfielder and German wunderknabe Christian Kromm finished it off with a rocket to the left corner, setting off a wild celebration of Badger players and creating the first on-field soccer dog-pile seen in recent memory.
The Badgers, 10-7-1 on the season, will have their hands full against the high-scoring Trojans of Wendell, who sport a 13-1-3 record and are averaging a whopping five goals a game.
Friday’s opponent will be either District III champion Weiser, 15-2-1 overall, or District V champion American Falls, who enter the tournament 9-2-4, as those two schools face off Thursday. You can follow the team’s progress on http://www.idahosports.com/ throughout the weekend.