Badger soccer squads get homecoming wins
September 25, 2012
The homecoming coverage on this site inadvertently omitted two big highlights as the Badger soccer squads both sent the  Priest River Spartans home in defeat, the boys in a 7-0 shutout, the girls winning 8-1.

In boys action on Lindberg field, junior forward Victor Mendez tallied two first-half goals and also collected an assist, and freshman forward Jake Tremble scored once and assisted on two other goals as the Badgers won handily.

Junior midfielder Oscar Lopez assisted on Mendez’s second goal, while senior defender Evan Moe was the beneficiary of Tremble’s second assist in the 18th minute, giving Bonners Ferry a 4-0 lead.

Freshman forward Tucker Dirks notched his third goal of the season just before halftime to make the score 5-0.

In the second half, concentrating on ball movement and the short-passing game, the Badgers scored twice, the first in the 55th minute when sophomore Chase Dinning scored an unassisted goal, and later in the 77th minute when senior defender Kody Rice tallied his first career goal off a nice pass from sophomore midfielder Matt Gray.

Senior Garrett Skeen saw second-half field playing time after minding the nets in the first half, with senior midfielder Keaton Tremble ably filling Skeen’s duty in goal in the second half to preserve the shutout, during which the Badgers allowed the Spartans only two shots on goal.

With the win the Badgers moved to 3-0 in league play, with two league games coming up this weekend, putting the boys in a tie for first place league standings with St. Maries.

Orofino comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest Friday, which also serves as the team’s Senior Day. The boys head to St. Maries on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match against the second-place Lumberjacks. They'll face Stillwater Christian  at 4 p.m. Tuesday, and their final league match comes at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 4, as they travel to Priest River.

In the girls game, powerhouse senior forward Liz Racer scored five of the Badgers eight goals, Jocelyn Palacios, Lindsay Taggart and Kerstin Oxford each added one, all scored in a shutout first half. Priest River made their only goal at 53:32 minutes into the match.

Both teams had the same number of shots on goal, a dozen, and Badger goalie Tessa Payne was credited with eight saves.

The win holds the Badger girls at the top of the Intermountain League, with a league record of 7-0-1, with their final two league games this weekend.

The girls will face Orofino at noon Friday at home; they travel to take on Coeur d'Alene Christian at 1 p.m. Saturday. The girls travel to Stillwater Christian for their last game of the regular season at 4 p.m. next Tuesday.

District play for both Badger boys and girls begins Saturday, October 6.