The postseason has arrived for boys and girls high school soccer.
District tournaments begin play this week in the 6A Southern Idaho Conference. The boys bracket begins Thursday, Oct. 10, while the girls begin Friday. Both championship games take place next Wednesday, Oct. 16. Four teams are guaranteed spots in the state tournament, with two others advancing to play-in games.
Here’s a look at the tournament fields.
BOYSAs expected, the league proved to be a gauntlet with no team able to remain undefeated through the regular season. With a 14-team conference this season, only the top two teams clinched a bye to the quarterfinal round. The tournament is hosted by Boise and Capital high schools.
Rocky Mountain had the fewest blemishes, earning the top seed in the tournament. Surprisingly, their only conference loss came to Capital, the No. 12 seed in the bracket. The Grizzlies also had draws against Bishop Kelly and Timberline. Forwards Rylan McPherson and Gabe Hernandez have combined for 26 goals and 11 assists this season.
Occupying the No. 2 seed is Boise. The Brave lost to Borah and Rocky Mountain in the regular season. Baraka Dayi leads the team with 15 goals and nine assists.
Rocky Mountain will face the lowest remaining seed from the six play-in games. Boise will face the second-lowest seed. Bishop Kelly finished just outside the top two with one draw and three losses in the regular season. They earned the No. 3 seed in the district tournament.
The next pack of teams are bunched together. Seeds 4-7 — Owyhee, Borah, Timberline and Eagle — all have either three or four conference losses. Borah enters the tournament on a six-game win streak. Timberline hasn’t had the season it has hoped for so far, but the three-time defending state champs can’t be counted out.
The play-in matchups on Thursday are as follows: No. 3 Bishop Kelly vs. No. 14 Meridian, No. 4 Owyhee vs. No. 13 Kuna, No. 5 Borah vs. No. 12 Capital, No. 6 Timberline vs. No. 11 Ridgevue, No. 7 Eagle vs. No. 10 Centennial and No. 8 Mountain View vs. No. 9 Caldwell.
The quarterfinal round takes place Saturday and the semifinals Monday, Oct. 14.
GIRLSIn contrast to the boys, two girls teams avoided a loss in 6A SIC play. Rocky Mountain and Boise both had conference records of 10-0-2. Both defeated Owyhee, the No. 3 seed, so the tiebreaker fell to the No. 4 seed Bishop Kelly. The Brave defeated the Knights, while the Grizzlies tied them.
Both Boise and Rocky Mountain opened the season with a loss to an out-of-state opponent. Since then, neither have lost a game to a school in Idaho. Rocky Mountain has been led by Campbell Wilson, who has 25 goals and five assists this season. The Brave have remained steadfast in their goal of winning a second state title in three years.
Defending state champs Owyhee remain a threat, especially with sophomore forward Alexa Zierenberg breaking out this season to lead the team in scoring.
The top three seeds earn a bye to the quarterfinal round.
Just as the boys have, the Bishop Kelly girls have acclimated themselves well in the new league, posting an 8-2-2 record. Mountain View is the No. 5 seed, led by forwards Marisol Stosich and Samantha Jones, who have combined for 28 goals this season.
No. 6 Timberline and No. 7 Eagle had identical conference records at 6-3-3.
The play-in games take place Friday, Oct. 11. The matchups are No. 4 Bishop Kelly vs. No. 13 Capital, No. 5 Mountain View vs. No. 12 Ridgevue, No. 6 Timberline vs. No. 11 Meridian, No. 7 Eagle vs. No. 10 Borah and No. 8 Kuna vs. No. 9 Centennial.
The quarterfinal round is Saturday and the semifinals Monday. The tournament is hosted by Timberline and Borah high schools.
Local News
Comments / 0