PR Sports

CALDWELL — Like a wedding crasher enjoying the thrill of sneaking into the party uninvited, Bonneville forward Luis Gomez leaned in close with a secret.

“We’re not even supposed to be here,” Gomez said softly while grinning.
The “here” was the 4A state boys soccer tournament, which is now much more than a destination — thanks to Gomez — it’s the coveted prize waiting to be claimed.

On Friday afternoon, Gomez split two defenders and poked the ball past the outstretched arms of Century’s oncoming keeper to give the Bonneville Bees a thrilling 2-1 double overtime victory over the Diamondbacks and advance to the state championship game.

It was Gomez’s second golden goal in as many games.

Bonneville certainly wasn’t supposed to be in the semifinals, but the Bees managed to scratch and claw their way to a 3-2 overtime victory against the seemingly invincible Jerome Tigers on Thursday in the first round. Then came Friday’s win — one that didn’t come easy.

“I think we came out a little overconfident,” Gomez said. “After pulling the upset against Jerome, we thought it was going to be easy. As a result, we had to work a lot harder than we should have today.”

Bonneville had another frustrating day offensively, watching balls bounce off the crossbar or sail just wide of the goal. Finally, in the 63rd minute, the Bees converted one of its many opportunities when Gomez fed a ball to Alejandro Garcia, whose tidy finish gave Bonneville a 1-0 lead.

However, Century, which defeated Bonneville 3-1 during the regular season, turned up the pressure and managed to draw even in the 73rd minute.

In overtime, Bonneville waited for the perfect chance to strike. Antonio Castenada played a ball forward to Gomez, who split two defenders and toe-poked it past an oncoming keeper to seal the victory and avoid a shootout.

“I told our team before the game that the team with the most heart was going to win,” Bonneville coach Ali Siahpush said. “But both teams played with a lot of heart and it was going to come down to the team who made a mistake. Fortunately, they made a mistake and we were able to take advantage of it.”

Bonneville has its work cut out for it when the Bees face perennial powerhouse Sandpoint in the championship at 2 p.m. today in Caldwell.

“When you get to the finals, you have to play from the heart,” Siahpush said. “Our boys can certainly do that and will have to play their best in the finals.”

By JASON CHATRAW
prsports@postregister.com