ORDER GAME PHOTOS

With the girls soccer season off and running, here are the key teams, players and races to keep an eye on in 2023.

Class 5A

Boise made the fifth time the charm as the Brave put an end to a streak of four straight runner-up finishes and finally won it all. As Boise seeks a repeat, they will face stiff competition from around the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.

Boise will be without two of their star players from last year’s team that finally got over the hump. Idaho player of the year Annie Liebich is gone as well as first team goalkeeper Sophie Hills. The Brave have the pieces to make up for these losses as Maizy Kluksdal, Mia Barron, Kunie Hirai, and Grace Hatch are back.  Reigning Gatorade Player of the Year Sammy Smith will once again split her time between the Brave's cross country and soccer squads.

The team that stood opposite Boise in last year’s state championship, Centennial, took the underdog’s route to the final defeating Coeur d’Alene in a play-in match then taking down Eagle and top seeded Lake City. Forward Asia Lawyer and goalkeeper Kaiya Pardue, two key pieces from the Patriots’ Cinderella run, are gone and need replacing.

Rocky Mountain was the only team to defeat Boise in 2022, but the Grizzlies still went 1-3 against the Brave and lost the two games that mattered most in the district and state tournaments. Kaitlyn Slocum graduated, but Rocky brings back Ari Siwek and keeper Bea Levi as one of the state’s best programs looks to get back to its championship-winning ways.  Rocky will have to overcome some adversity, though, as Campbell Wilson is out for the season with an ACL injury.

Eagle is looking to come out on the right side of the bracket on day one of state after settling for consolation at last year’s state tournament. Madelene Knoll, Grace Nelson, Casey Southard, and Mackenzie Brown are key pieces from last year that will need to be replaced for the Mustangs. With Aubriana Smith and Naomi Hilbig back from last season’s all-state honor roll, can Eagle reload?

A team that fell short of expectations last year in the SIC was the Timberline Wolves. A perennial contender for conference and state titles narrowly finished in the top half of the conference in the regular season, but did just enough in district tournament play to make the state tournament. It would be a short stay however as 3-2 defeats to eventual state champion Boise and consolation bracket winner Highland contributed to a short stay in Idaho Falls. 

As the state tournaments come to the Treasure Valley in 2023, the Wolves will have to write their redemption story without all-Idaho talents Laken Gallagher and Ella Boson. Ashlyn Sando and Emma Widmor will look to be the key figures for Timberline’s 2023 squad.

Elsewhere around the Treasure Valley, Owyhee will seek to crack the state tournament field after falling just short in 2022 while Middleton and Mountain View seem to be next in line to crack the top echelon of the SIC. Kuna, Borah, Capital, and Meridian will look to be improved as well in the always exciting 5A SIC.

Two teams from Eastern Idaho cracked the state tournament field with Highland and Thunder Ridge both earning spots in the field of eight. The Rams took the easy way in by winning the conference title while the Titans had to edge Owyhee in a play-in match. 

The Rams lost the consolation final to Eagle which was the second of two defeats in penalty kicks for Highland in the state tournament. The Rams graduated three all-Idaho honorees in Emma Crystal, Evee Stoddard, and Abby Satterfield. High Country Conference player of the year Tambree Bell along with Caitlin Staats, Riley Jones, and Dani Lamb will be key returning players in Highland’s quest for yet another conference crown and subsequent state tournament berth.

Thunder Ridge may be Highland’s biggest threat in District 5-6 and will look to use a disappointing showing in the state tournament as motivation to unseat the Rams in the High Country Conference. Willow Rhoda, Savannah Kenney, Sophie Denning, and Rocky Rodriguez will be key pieces to the Titans’ quest. A key loss for Thunder Ridge occurred when Marisol Stosich transferred to Boise High this season.  In the east, Madison and Rigby will also look to be a factor as well.

Up north, Lake City was on a tear. The Timberwolves were undefeated heading into a state semifinal matchup with Centennial. However, Lake City took a stunning 1-0 defeat to the Patriots forcing the top seed to settle for a 3rd place finish after a penalty kick victory over Rocky Mountain. Now, Lake City will seek to finish the job and take home a state crown in 2023.

Lake City will have to do it without co-Inland Empire League MVPs Georgia Whitehead and Elliotte Kortus as well as conference newcomer of the year Delaney Moczan, but there are some key pieces returning. All-Idaho defender Taylor Miller as well as Kennedy Hartzell will be key for the Timberwolves.

Who will catch Lake City? That’s a question Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene, and Post Falls will look to provide an answer to. Lewiston returns conference goalkeeper of the year and all-state honorable mention Allison Olsen. Trinity Bonebrake and Eva Steele are additional Bengals to keep an eye on while Berkley Owens will be a key player for the Vikings.

Class 4A

Much like the 5A ranks, the 4A state champion also hailed from the Treasure Valley. It was Bishop Kelly coming out on top at Real Life Fields in Post Falls for the 2022 crown. With reigning SIC and state player of the year Sophie Schmautz back along with Gracie Rhodes, the Knights will look to do it again.

Vallivue and Skyview seem to be BK’s biggest threats in the SIC, The Falcons get all-state first teamer Hailey Upson back along with Jenna Seals, Amanda Soto, Kendal Meumeyer, and Piper Hubler from the all-SIC roster while the Hawks return Alina Hernandez. Caldwell and Ridgevue have an edge from a returning talent perspective which opens the door for both teams to threaten not just for spots in the top half of the league, but for a conference title as well.

Twin Falls and Canyon Ridge were the cream of the crop in the Great Basin Conference. The Bruins just could not get it done against their crosstown rival with the two regular season meetings resulting in a Riverhawk win and then a draw.

Canyon Ridge won yet again in the district tournament before Twin Falls finally responded with a win of their own in the state tournament. The Bruins went on to finish as runner-up while the Riverhawks went two and out. This rivalry expects to be a huge factor in this year’s conference race.

The Bruins lose conference defensive player of the year Miranda Wilson along with first team all-conference star Zoey Thompson. Ava Schroeder, Olivia Thompson, Tiffany Humphreys, and Hannah McQueen are back for Twin. Canyon Ridge is a similar story as the Riverhawks lose three key pieces of all-league talent in Shelby Geiger, Aspen Harmer, and Jaden Johnsten while returning Jayva Hicks and Archana Tamang.

If someone aside from one of the Twin Falls schools comes out of the Great Basin Conference, it will most likely be one of Mountain Home or Wood River. The Tigers have the offensive conference player of the year back in Hailey Eresman to go along with numerous other key returning pieces. Wood River has key players returning that will make them a factor as well.

Heading further east, Pocatello finished in 3rd place at state in 2022. This season, they will look to make it to the game to play for a state crown. The Thunder will be without Lexi Bott on this quest, but do return Lexi Wells as they look to shake off Century and Preston for another conference title and state tournament trip.

The High Country Conference should see one of the more exciting conference races in the state. Bonneville came out on top last season, but doing it again in 2023 will be no cakewalk. Skyline, Idaho Falls, and Shelley will all seek to take advantage of some key losses from Bonneville to come out on top of the conference. 

The Bees may be without some of their key players, but there are plenty of reasons to expect Bonneville to reload. Alyssa Harris, Sydney Tolman, and Maya Medrano were all honored at the conference and state levels in 2022. Skyline lost league player of the year Daisha Wagner along with Kamry Fellows, but have the pieces to contend again. Shelley was one of District 6’s representatives at state last season and the Russets have the pieces to get back there. Idaho Falls is also worth keeping an eye on.

In Northern Idaho, all eyes are on Sandpoint. The Bulldogs made it to the state tournament in 2022 after a surprising upset in the district tournament kept them out in 2021. Sandpoint had its eyes set on a state title, but fell to Twin Falls in the semifinals. Now, can Sandpoint put it all together and win it all?

The Bulldogs return Inland Empire League MVP Lilliana Brinkmeier along with Cecilia Dignan, Hannah Harvey, and Aliya Strock. Moscow’s Ellie Rainer won league newcomer of the year as a freshman and along with other key returners, the Bears will look to play spoiler to Sandpoint again.

Class 3A

After Fruitland derailed the Coeur d’Alene Charter dynasty with a state title in 2021, some thought the Grizzlies could start a similar run of their own. Sun Valley Community School had something to say about that as they denied Fruitland a repeat and won the state crown. 

The Cutthroats went 21-1 losing only a single contest to Bliss all season long. Ruby Christ and Mia Hansmeyer return from the Cutthroats’ championship winning squad that graduated Amanda Dunn, Gretel Huss, and Anika Vandenburgh. 

Sun Valley should cruise to another High Desert Conference crown, but teams such as Buhl, Kimberly, Wendell, and the very Bliss team responsible for the Cutthroats’ lone defeat last season will look to catch ground and will not make another Sun Valley conference title easy. Wendell’s Heymy Orozco and Buhl’s Liesl Kimball earned second team all-state honors and will be a force to be reckoned with on the pitch.

American Falls will look to capture another conference crown in 2023. The Beavers took 3rd place at state last year and will look to build on this finish. Though absent Alexia Medel and Brisa Leon, the return of Aliana Cruces and Leila Jackson should keep American Falls strong.

Marsh Valley split the regular season series with American Falls, but three draws denied the Eagles an opportunity to share the regular season title with the Beavers. With Brooke Johnson gone, but Kamailee Singh back, can Marsh Valley reverse some of those disappointing results on the pitch?

In Eastern Idaho, David slayed Goliath as Teton defeated Sugar-Salem in the district tournament to put an end to the Diggers’ undefeated season and force them to watch the state tournament from home. Piper Wilson and goalkeeper Grace Zogg played key roles in Teton’s cinderella story, but both are graduated now.

Sugar-Salem will look to wash out the sour taste in its mouth from staying home during the state tournament in 2022. Isabelle Tuttle and Allie Christensen will be key players for the Diggers as they look to make the eight team field in 2023.

In the Snake River Valley Conference, there could be a new team to come out as district champion. Fruitland lost all-Idaho player of the year Abbi Roubidoux as well as Payton Fritts. Don’t count out the Grizzlies just yet however as first team all-state honorees Riley George and Sophia Gibb are back.

The question in District 3 is simple. If not Fruitland, then who? McCall-Donnelly seems like the team that would dethrone the Grizzlies. The Vandals did beat Fruitland once last season then the two teams played to a draw in their second meeting.

While Fruitland won the district championship meeting with McCall, both teams still went to state with the Grizzlies finishing as runner-up and the Vandals losing the consolation final to Coeur d’Alene Charter. With no Tylie Value or Kaiya can McCall unseat Fruitland in the Snake River Valley Conference?

Coeur d’Alene Charter is still looking to find its way back to a state crown. After a run of five straight titles from 2016-2020, a pair of first round upsets has forced the Panthers to settle for consolation trophies the past two seasons. Is this the year CDA Charter finally gets back to its championship ways? 

Conference player of the year Rebekah Hines is gone along with Cadence Wilson. Maddie Daigle and Alexa Sheppard are back as the Panthers look to keep Timberlake at arm’s reach in the Intermountain League and continue their mastery over the conference. 

The Tigers will have Lucy Simpson as a key returning all-conference piece as they look to finally beat the Panthers. Bonners Ferry’s Lindsay Onstott and Grangeville’s Cora Nichols will also be players to watch as the question still lingers on who can finally unseat CDA Charter in the Intermountain League.