Lake City clinches

Often soccer coaches talk about that intangible one can never count on – luck.

Certainly the Lake City High boys soccer team had its share of good fortune Thursday. But the Timberwolves were well prepared to benefit from a few strokes of fate, too, at the Irma Anderl Soccer Complex.

Lake City captured a second consecutive 5A Region I championship, shutting out crosstown rival Coeur d’Alene 3-0 for the second time in a week.

The T-Wolves (15-1-1) advance to state, which will be held Thursday through Oct. 21 at the Boise Capital Soccer Complex in Meridian. LC will open against District III runner-up Boise (12-3-1).

Coeur d’Alene (13-2-3) still can earn a berth. The Vikings will square off with defending state champ Centennial (13-4-3) on Saturday at Lewiston at 1 p.m.

The regional final was the rubber match between the archrivals. CdA handed LC its lone loss, 1-0, last month at LC.

The T-Wolves returned the favor last week, snapping CdA’s 10-game winning streak. But LC’s second victory over the Vikings may have been more decisive than the first.

LC scored the only goal it would need 8 minutes into the final when CdA failed to clear a ball in front of its goal. Sophomore forward Mike Eggleston found himself alone in front of an empty net as the ball seemingly hung suspended in the air. Eggleston nudged it in.

Just moments before, CdA goalie Tyler Olmsted made a great stab on a shot by Jason Wheelock, and 2 minutes after the goal LC missed on another opportunity.

So the Vikings felt good going into intermission just down 1-0.

But CdA’s hopes were dashed early in the second half. LC doubled its lead when Wheelock, in the right place at the right time, knocked in a rebound off a shot by Eggleston.

One minute later, Brandon Wood headed a ball with authority past Olmsted off a crisp cross from Evan Palo.

“Evan set me up great,” Wood said.

Palo said it was a scoring opportunity he’s been waiting for all season.

“All year we haven’t really hooked up with each other,” Palo said. “I knew he was streaking across. I knew right when I kicked it that it was going in.”

The goal was textbook.

“It was a great finish,” LC coach Chad Beadell said of Wood’s goal. “It’s a hard ball to control. Palo played a great ball with pace on it. All Brandon had to do was get his head there.”

The victory may have been costly, though.

Senior midfielder Tim Schreiber had to limp off the field 15 minutes into the match with what Beadell believes to be a chipped bone in his foot.

Then with 11 minutes remaining, senior defender Jake Williamson had to be helped off with what Beadell suspects is a broken bone above the ankle. Williamson and CdA’s Jalon Eborall collided on a clean slide.

“Injuries happen and we’ve had to play through them this year,” Beadell said.

CdA couldn’t mount an attack.

“We didn’t have enough shots on goal is what it comes down to,” CdA coach Eric Louis said. “We just couldn’t get the ball in front of the net to a shooter.”

Both Louis and Beadell expect the Vikings to win Saturday and end up in Boise.

“If things go well, maybe we’ll see these guys again on the (Oct.) 21st,” Louis said of next Saturday during trophy matches at state. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in our guys to bounce back quickly.”