Hillcrest 3, Sandpoint 2 

MIDDLETON — Facing Hillcrest in the first round of the 5A State Championship for the second time in as many years, senior Hope Barnes and junior Bayah Ratigan both scored first-half goals, but the No. 8 Lady Bulldogs' upset bid fell just shy of the undefeated No. 1 Lady Knights (18-0-1) in a thriller that opened up tournament play on Thursday morning at Middleton High.

Barnes took advantage of a botched kick by the opposing goalkeeper during the 10th minute to break the ice. Finding the ball at her feet after the miscue, she dribbled left a couple of times while surrounded by a sea of Hillcrest defenders and rolled one into the bottom-left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

During the 32nd minute, off a pass from senior Mackenzie Mitchell, Ratigan turned and dribbled upfield, evading a defender in the process, and lasered a shot into the top-right corner of the net from nearly 30 yards out as the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage on Hillcrest, which entered the game outscoring opponents 85-9 on the year.

The Lady Knights came out of halftime and scored during the 45th minute on a corner kick, and again just before time expired during the 79th minute to force overtime. In overtime, another corner kick goal during the 88th minute by Hillcrest, which fell to Sandpoint in overtime by a score of 1-0 in last year's state tournament opener, proved to be the difference maker.

Junior goalkeeper Izzy Stark did everything she could to will Sandpoint to a win, recording 12 saves on the day while fending off a total of 11 corners.

No. 8 Sandpoint (6-9-1) will face No. 4 Middleton (13-6), which lost to No. 5 Moscow (12-3-3) by a score of 1-0 in their opener, in a consolation loser-out game Friday at 8 a.m. (PST). The winner will face off against the winner of No. 3 Skyline (14-4-2) and No. 2 Twin Falls (17-1-1) in the consolation championship Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Vikings met in last year's state semifinals, with Sandpoint winning that matchup in penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in regulation.

1st half — 1, SPT, Hope Barnes (unassisted), 10'. 2, SPT, Bayah Ratigan (Mackenzie Mitchell), 32'. 2nd half — 3, HC, Maizy Summers (Harley Jarvis), 45'. 4, HC, Brinley Nelson (Ella Brown), 79'. Overtime — 5, HC, Quicy Daw (Brinley Nelson), 88'.

Shots on goal: Sandpoint — 3. Hillcrest — 15

Saves: Sandpoint — Izzy Stark 12. Hillcrest — Scarlett Witte 1.