COEUR d'ALENE — Lake City was able to take down Sandpoint boys soccer for the second time this season on Friday, earning a 4-0 nonleague win over the Bulldogs.

But head coach Tanner French said the lopsided scoreline didn't match how his squad played against the second-ranked 5A team in the state. He felt the boys turned in arguably their best showing of the season.

"I don't think the score was reflective of our effort," he said. "... I think there was some mental lapses that led to the goals, but I mean pretty much our best performance of the year."

The game was intense, and at times chippy. French said there was quite a few yellow cards, and a Lake City player was even shown a red card a few minutes into the second half.

"It was a fun game to be around," he said.

And with about 30 minutes left in the match, it started pouring.

"We're all drenched," French said.

The Bulldogs went in with a more defensive game plan to try and slow down the Timberwolves' attack, and for the most part, French said his team stuck with it.

"Lake City has the firepower that we may or may not see in the state tournament," he said.

Lake City (9-0) scored a pair of goals in each half. The Bulldogs only mustered four shots, but they battled and were shorthanded, playing without Randy Lane, Canyon Nash and Pierce McDermott.

French said his team finally started to put it all together.

"We had our opportunities," he said. "They were few and far between, but it still was a good sight to see our boys have so much energy, enthusiasm and intensity, and all the things we seemed to be lacking in the first five games.

It's taken us six games to find that, but overall I think the boys are happy. They were the bigger team in a variety of situations that arose throughout the game."

There were mistakes here and there, but overall French felt every player had a bright moment. It was a total team effort.

Junior goalkeeper Roman Jiles made eight saves and French was impressed with all of them.

"He was outstanding for 99% of his game," he said about Jiles.

Believe it or not, the Bulldogs have reached the halfway point of the regular season, and French said this effort against the Timberwolves could be a turning point for his squad.

"I think this game will bring a lot of enthusiasm to training and I know the boys are already building off of it," he said. "Just the chatter walking off the field, it's just different."

Sandpoint (3-3, 2-2 IEL) returns home to take on Post Falls at 4 p.m. Tuesday at War Memorial Field.

First half — 1, LC, unknown, 3:00. 2, LC, unknown, 23:00. Second half — 3, LC, unknown, 50:00. 4, LC, Noah Janzen (unknown), 58:00.

Shots — SHS 4, LC 14.

Saves — SHS, Roman Jiles 8; LC, unknown.