Badger girls soccer 5-0 winning streak

KALISPEL — Badger girls soccer is on a 5-0 winning streak after defeating St. Maries 4-0 on Aug. 31.

The Badgers shot ahead with a three-goal lead at half and finished with their fourth goal in the second half. They will travel to Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy for their first Intermountain League match on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Badger beat Stillwater Christian 3-2 on Aug. 29. With about eight minutes left in the match, it was a 2-2 tie.

“The girls really got tested and showed that they can be aggressive and first to the ball throughout the whole game without slowing down,” said head coach Emily Winebark. “It was our toughest game yet and it was a tie at half and with about 8 minutes to go in the game.”

Mia Blackmore scored once, and Brenly Hymas scored twice, giving the Badgers a win by 3-2.

Winebark said the Badgers’ defensive line was a highlight of the game, as they played extremely well and held the line. New fullback wings Kaylee Sumpter, Lena Teele and Alexys Brown did an excellent job, she added.

The Badgers face St. Maries for a second time on Wednesday. Due to deadlines, the game will be covered online and be in the next edition of the Bonners Ferry Herald. The Lumberjacks are 1-2.

On Friday, Aug. 26, the Badgers beat the Grangeville Bulldogs 9-0.

In preparation for the match, Winebark said she expected the Bulldogs to be as physical as they have been historically, but due to graduating many seniors the Bulldogs played a different game.

“It’s a completely different team,” she added.

She said as a team, the Badgers slowed down their play and focused more on passing and less on shooting the ball. She saw improvement on passing in the second half.

Winebark experimented with putting players in different positions during the contest, preparing the team for future games when they may have less substitutes and hurt athletes.

“Everyone needs to get used to playing in different positions,” she said. “There was hesitancy in positions, but … not knowing what you’re doing, that’s how you learn. We switched things up a lot.”

One change was Teresa Shottanna-Ponce being switched from being goalie to playing defense. Shottanna-Ponce played defense last season and Winebark said she wanted to give her some field time.

The Badgers played many freshmen defenders on the wings. Winebark said it was an opportunity to have upperclassmen and middle defender players Majasa Allred and Lindsay Onstott coaching younger players on the position during the game.

More players were now eligible to play, including an athlete new to soccer, Kaylee Sumpter, who scored a goal for the Badgers.

Winebark is excited the program now has a full team and was glad to see the ball and goals were spread amongst so many players.

Goals: M. Allred 1, M. Blackmore 1, M. Hart 1, B. Hymans 1, M. McIntrye 1, A. Mierke 1, B. Petesch 1, K. Sumpter 1 and L. Onstott 1.

Badger girl’s soccer goes 3-1 over the Spartans

BONNERS FERRY — Bonners Ferry Badgers beat the Priest River Spartans 3-1 on Aug. 23.

The Spartans played with only nine players due to athletes not having enough practices to compete. The Badgers’ forwards and midfielders went on the attack, fighting for every 50-50 ball and gaining the return kick from the goalkeeper nearly every time.

Mia Blackmore, playing for the Badgers, scored in the first two minutes of the match. Before halftime, the Badgers scored two more times in rapid succession by Brooke Petesch and Brenly Hymas. Teresa Shottana-Ponce, goalkeeper, saved a penalty kick later in the match.

Head coach Emily Winebark said that the team hustled and they had some really strong players in the middle with Blackmore, Majassa Allred and Lindsey Onstott.

“Grangeville is very physical, so we need to work on staying on our feet,” Winebark said.

She predicted the game will be more physical than the one against Priest River. She said the Badgers will have to work on staying up, using their core, staying on their feet and being first to the ball.

As the Spartans kept the Badgers at bay, they had good looks on goal and scored at the end of the second half. Two Spartans had their feet on the ball for the scored goal: Lizzie McCracken and Cheyenne Thompson.

The Spartans had to make some quick changes on the field due to Thompson just recently being medically released. Head coach Kris Leonard said they adapted beautifully.

Leonard said the Spartans will have a full team for Saturday’s game. She said the focus for the next game is goal scoring, passing and dribbling.

“[For passing] today wasn’t bad, but when they get tired you can see their passing go down,” Leonard said. “When their legs are fresh, their passes are good and they are trying to make goal kicks consistent.”

This year they are working on developing offense, Leonard said. It is only the second game of the season and Leonard is hopeful that the team will get where they need to be.