SANDPOINT — With just under 20 minutes left in the District 1-2 championship game, the Sandpoint Bulldogs were in desperation mode against the Moscow Bears. 

After a balanced and scoreless first half, the Bulldogs found themselves with their championship hopes on the ropes after Moscow’s Hazel Stevens sent a rocket of a free kick into the back of the net to give them a 1-0 advantage. It was go time, and Sandpoint knew it. 

For the next 20 minutes, the Bulldogs fought to produce chance after chance, coming tantalizingly close to finding an equalizer against the reigning 5A state champions. However, once the clock found triple zeroes, the score remained 1-0, and the Bears claimed the trophy. 

"I can’t say anything more about their effort; it was there,” Sandpoint head coach Alan Brinkmeier said. “It was just a couple of bounces that didn’t go our way. Moscow is a very strong team. We had a couple of opportunities... and we didn’t finish them. Sometimes that’s just the game of soccer.” 

The two top teams in the Inland Empire League spent the first half trading possession and chances to score. In the first 40 minutes, Sandpoint senior goalkeeper Izzy Stark was the star of the show as she cut off numerous long balls sent toward her by Moscow.  

Stark’s excellence kept the Bears from landing any quality scoring chances in the first half, despite a few defensive breakdowns. 

"She took away all their through balls, and that’s their biggest threat,” Brinkmeier said. “That free kick, the way it skipped underneath her, I don’t fault her for it, that was just a good finish.” 

Sandpoint’s best chance to tie the game up came in the 62nd minute after Moscow’s goalie couldn’t contain a shot from Aleeya Anaya. The ball quickly bounced toward a Sandpoint player, who couldn’t corral a quality shot and sent the ball flying over the wide-open goal. 

Senior Bayah Ratigan was the engine of the Bulldogs’ offense for the entire game, as she has been for a majority of the season. Ratigan took a shot late in the game, which she fought off to continue playing, which ignited a fire under the Bulldogs as they searched for a goal. 

"She is still one of our strongest players, and she can carry the team’s momentum,” Brinkmeier said of Ratigan. “Everybody could tell she was injured, but when she comes out with more fire, I think that just brings the team around her.” 

With the loss, Sandpoint’s hope of making the state tournament now lies in a win-or-go-home play-in game. The Bulldogs are set to host the Idaho Falls Tigers at War Memorial Field on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. 

Sandpoint is listed as the No. 7 team in 5A soccer, while Twin Falls is ranked No. 9, according to MaxPreps. The Tigers went 10-8-1 this season, but faced a weaker schedule than the Bulldogs, who went 9-7-1. The winner of that game will advance to the 5A State Tournament, which is set to be hosted in Sandpoint next week.