LEWISTON — The Badgers, the 3A District 1-2 runner-up, fell to the Fruitland Grizzlies in a penalty kick shoot-out at the state play-in match at Walker Field on Saturday, Oct. 14.

“Fruitland scored in the first ten minutes but then the girls held them,” Bonners Ferry head coach Emily Winebark said. “We scored at the end of the first half off a beautiful corner kick by Brenly Hymas, then chest trapped and scored by Markynn Pluid.”

“The girls played extremely tough defense, with Lena Teele and Brooke Petesch marking Fruitland’s two strongest players and keeping them from being effective,” she said.

Nevaeh Therrien also had a great defensive game on the wing, Winebark said.

After two 10 minute double overtimes, the score remained 1-1, forcing the Badgers and Grizzlies to fight it out by way of PKs.

“Unfortunately by overtime, the girls got tired and resorted to playing mostly defensively, but they played a physical and extremely tough game of soccer for 100 minutes, many of them not subbing at all,” she said.

At PKs, Fruitland made three and the Badgers made one, scored by Brenly Hymas.

Markynn Pluid, Alexys Mierke, Lena Teele, and Maddie Hart also went to the PK line for the Badgers.

“Goalkeeper Alexis Brown did a great job in goal, making two dives and tipping two shots from Fruitland, almost saving them,” Winebark said, adding she made two saves during the shootout.

Fruitland 2

Bonners Ferry 1, PK

Bonners Ferry finished 9-8, 6-4.

Fruitland (14-3-2) advances to state starting on Thursday at Vallivue High.

The Badgers had many highlights this season, finishing third in league, coming back and defeating Timberlake 1-0 districts after falling 7-2 to the Tigers earlier in the season.

For the first time since 2013, the Badgers held Coeur d’Alene Charter to only two goals. In the 2022 season. The Badgers scored against the Panthers for the first time in both matches, falling 8-1, 9-1.

Historically, Cd’A Charter has dominated the 3A IML, defeating opponents by upward of seven goals or even in the double digits. They have visited the state the past nine years earning six state championships, one second place and one fourth place trophy.

Cd’A Charter's state championship run started in 2014 (the second year of the way in the 3A classification) and continued from 2016 to 2020.