An Idaho Rush youth soccer team already raised the bar for the state. But it added a few more records to its legend last week.
Rush’s U-17 girls squad dominated the U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional championships in Hawaii, outscoring its competition 18-1 to become the first back-to-back regional title winners in state history.
Rush will also compete in the 16-team national tournament later this month for the third straight year, another first for an Idaho youth soccer team.
“It’s just how close they are as a team,” Rush coach Daniel Codina said. “It’s a group that holds each other accountable. Every single player enjoys each other, and they are one of the hardest-training teams I’ve worked with in a while.”
The Rush earned a bit of revenge in the 13-state regional tournament, taking down Utah Surf in the final 2-0. Rush beat Utah for the regional title last year, then fell to Surf in the national semifinals a month later .
Idaho struck first in the 18th minute in Hawaii when Maizy Kluksdal headed in a cross from Kunie Hirai. Bella Wright then tucked a 25-yard free kick inside the back post in the 70th minute to put Utah away.
Hirai led Rush with 10 goals during the tournament. Wright added four goals, and Kluksdal finished with two.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Marin MacKenzie didn’t allow a single goal during the run of play all tournament. The only goal Idaho conceded in six games came on a penalty kick in a 2-1 win over Washington’s Kitsap Alliance in the quarterfinals.
Rush already clinched a spot at the national tournament July 23-28 in Orlando, Florida, by winning its division in the U.S. Soccer’s Elite 64 National League . But the regional title continues to put this Rush squad in rarefied air.
Only four Idaho teams have ever won a Far West regional title. This Rush squad now owns two of them.
But Codina said Rush won’t head to Florida resting on its laurels. After back-to-back trips to the national semifinals, it’s looking to take the next step.
“It’s unfinished business,” Codina said. “They feel they were prepared (last year) but not for the weather, not for the humidity. When we asked them what they needed more for this year, it was fitness.
“They felt they did very well. But once they got to the semifinals match, they were gassed.”
No Idaho team has ever won a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship. The state’s best finish came in 2015, when the U-19 Nova-Nationals girls finished second after falling in penalty kicks in the finals.
IDAHO NATIVE CALLED UP TO USWNT
Boise native Emily Sams received her first training camp call-up to the U.S. women’s senior national soccer team last week. She will train with the national team ahead of a July 13 friendly vs. Mexico and this summer’s Olympics in France.
Sams, 25, helped lead Centennial to a state runner-up finish as a freshman in 2013 before moving to Florida. The Orlando Pride drafted her with the third overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, and she’s since developed into one of the top defenders in the league.
She’s anchored the NWSL’s best defense this season, helping lead Orlando (10-0-5) into a tie for first place in the league standings.
Sams previously played for the U.S. national teams at the U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels.
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