SANDPOINT — The last time the Sandpoint Bulldogs played against the Lakeland Hawks on Sept. 24, Harper Overland was the first Bulldog to find the back of the net in a victory. 

The same held true on Saturday in Sandpoint’s District 1-2 Tournament game, with Overland notching a brace to lift her Bulldogs over the Hawks 3-1. Sandpoint’s head coach Alan Brinkmeier said he thought his team handled the pressure of their first district tournament game well. 

“They came out on the front foot, trying to go at them, and then I think they let them start bringing the game to us,” Brinkmeier said. “I’m proud of the way they responded, and overall, we got the job done, and that was the biggest thing.” 

Overland’s first goal came early, in the 9th minute, as she hustled to jump on a ball from Bayah Ratigan. She knocked it into the bottom left corner past the Lewiston goalkeeper to make it 1-0, which would be the score at the half after a back and forth 30 minutes. 

Early in the second half, Overland struck again. This time the Bulldogs launched a shot from 20 yards out that skipped past the keeper and extended Sandpoint’s lead to 2-0. 

“She’s always a threat up top,” Brinkmeier said of Overland.  

Sandpoint continued to apply pressure on Lakeland’s backline, creating several quality chances to extend their lead. Ratigan stepped up in the 65th minute and outran two Hawk defenders to score Sandpoint’s third and final goal. 

Lakeland responded to the adversity with a fight and scored their lone goal off a beautiful free kick from Aspen Liddiard in the 74th minute.  

Brinkmeier said he thought his offense did a good job scoring but missed several opportunities throughout the game. 

“We need to be more clinical finishing, as a team,” Brinkmeier said. “We had way too many shots that just didn’t find the back of the net. We might not have that many options come Tuesday, so if we had one or two options, we’ve got to finish those.” 

The victory advances Sandpoint to the District 1-2 Tournament Championship against the 5A reigning state champs, Moscow. That game will be played at Sandpoint on Tuesday, at a time that will be announced later. 

The two teams split their regular season matchups, with Sandpoint earning a narrow 2-1 victory on Sept. 17 that helped them earn the top seed in the Inland Empire League. 

“There’s a target on our back,” Brinkmeier said. “We need to come in with that swagger of we’re the number one seed, we’re hosting them on our home turf. There’s really no excuse for us not to get the job done, and I think they know that. They just need to step on the field and believe that. 

Sandpoint 1 2 — 3 

Lakeland 0 1 — 1 

First half — SPT, Harper Overland (Bayah Ratigan), 9:00. Second half — SPT, Overland, 48:00. SPT, Ratigan, 65:00. LL — Aspen Liddiard (free kick), 74:00.