COEUR d'ALENE - In games of getting a good run toward the goal, it pays to have a state champion sprinter on the field.

For the defending state 5A champions, it most certainly did on Saturday.

Junior forward Maddi Ward, who won the state 200-meter dash championship in the spring, raced past the defense and scored on an assist from Camryn Wendlandt in the 44th minute as the top-seeded Lake City Timberwolves defeated the second-seeded and visiting Post Falls Trojans 2-1 in the 5A Region 1 girls soccer championship match at the Irma Anderl Soccer Complex.

"She was very composed on that shot," Lake City coach Matt Ruchti said. "That's the part of her game that's been missing, but when she remains composed, she's one of the top athletes in the state, that's for sure."

Both teams had already qualified for state next week.

It is Lake City's first regional title since 2005, when the Timberwolves finished sixth at state.

"I had a determination to get the win today," Ward said. "The last time we played them, I got injured and we've really been battling with them all year. The first game (a 1-0 loss on Sept. 21 to the Trojans), I got really emotionally into the game and didn't play my best game. This one, I was ready to come back and prove myself."

Lake City (9-5-3) will face Boise (15-2-1), the third-place team out of District 3 (Boise area) in the opening round of the state tournament starting Thursday at Meridian High.

"We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough match," Ruchti said. "We knew we'd get opportunities and needed to be a little more efficient on the attack and keep (Post Falls forward) Erica (Simpson) off the score sheet."

Post Falls (10-4-2) will face Rocky Mountain (16-1-2), who won its district championship, on the Grizzlies campus in Meridian to open the state tournament.

"We've played them three times - we've won one, they've won and we tied," Post Falls coach Briggs Anderson said. "It's something very similar to last season (when the schools played in the state title match). We need to make sure we've got a healthy team going into next week."

Post Falls lost starting defender Lexi Smith to a right ankle injury early in the first half, then lost Simpson to a right arm injury. Simpson returned to score the tying goal on an assist from Alli Crain at the 32:04 mark of the first half.

"I think Lexi's going to be OK," Anderson said. "When she went down, it changed our entire defensive strategy for the entire game. When Erica went down, for us, to have those two go down, it's a bad situation."

Sam Runkle had eight saves for Post Falls and faced 15 shots on goal from Lake City.

"She's an unbelievable goalkeeper," Anderson said. "She's kept us in so many games, this one included to keep it at a 2-1 game. She's probably the most steady keeper in the league and leads it in shutouts (7), and that shows how she plays and organizes that back line."

Alissa Jolliff scored off a rebound 3:51 into the match for Lake City, which had to win a play-in game last season just to advance to state.

"I thought we played a complete game," Ruchti said. "It got a little close toward the end, but we knocked the ball around well today. It's those individual moments that determine close games."

First half - 1, LC, Alissa Jolliff (unassisted), 3:51. 2, PF, Erica Simpson (Alli Crain), 32:04. Second half - 3, LC, Maddi Ward (Camryn Wendlandt), 44:55.

Shots on goal - PF 3, LC 15.

Saves - PF, Sam Runkle 8; LC, Tiegan Horton 2.