BAKER GIRLS SOCCER: Bulldogs bust through Weiser Wolverines, 5-1

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, September 13, 2023

The Baker girls soccer team trounced Weiser 5-1 on a sunny Tuesday evening, Sept. 12, at the Sports Complex.

Playing in light winds and with an occasional hawk soaring above, the Bulldogs had a rousing start with freshman forward Lily Logsdon and sophomore Gracie Spike exchanging passes on a run at the Weiser goal in the first minute of the match.

Spike scored on an assist from Logsdon to give Baker a 1-0 lead.

Spike repeated the feat a few minutes later.

Baker sophomore goalie Oakley Anderson, who had seven saves, wasn’t tested nearly as often as in previous matches, as the Bulldog defense mainly kept the ball on Baker’s side of the pitch during the first 15 minutes.

The Wolverines cut Baker’s lead to 2-1 with a kick to the corner of the goal.

But late in the first half Baker junior Anahy Ocampo got the ball past four defenders and the keeper to give Baker a 3-1 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs added goals by Logsdon and junior Winter Smith in the second half.

Baker coach Robbie Langrell said the Bulldogs’ defense, and Anderson’s work in the goal, were stellar.

“Oakley had seven saves today and 17 on Saturday (Sept. 9 against Fruitland), so she’s well over 100 for the season,” Langrell said. “Our defense is solid, it’s led by Mary Schwartz. We’ve got Tessa Garrick who’s come in, and she’s a fighter.”

Langrell said Baker has added two foreign exchange students, one from Italy and one from Brazil, to bolster the roster.

Veteran players are also playing key roles for the Bulldogs, who improved to 2-3 on the season.

“Makea Robb is doing a great job of organizing everybody wherever she goes,” Langrell said. “Today, I pulled her from defense, I was afraid she was going to get hurt, switched her to offense so she was out of the danger zone.”

Robb is one of the team captains.

“Everybody’s back, everybody’s healthy, and I’m up to 25 girls on the team,” Langrell said. “I did a really hard recruiting push this last week and recruited nine girls who have never played soccer before.”

That’s a big improvement over the Sept. 9 game at Fruitland, a 4-0 Baker loss in which the Bulldogs had just 11 players available due to injuries.

“It was really hard to get peopled subbed, it was a hot game because it was noon, middle of the day, but we had a great showing from Meren Jesenko and Kyndal Chandler,” Langrell said. “Jasmine Jimenez is a first year soccer player and she has come so far in the last couple weeks, it’s really encouraging to see those girls out there.”

The Bulldogs return to the road, traveling to Payette on Saturday, Sept. 16 for a 10 a.m. PDT match. Baker opens league play on Sept. 21 at home against La Grande at 5:30 p.m.

WEISER, Idaho — The Baker boys soccer team blanked Weiser 2-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 12, improving to 5-1 and climbing to within one spot of the top 10 among Class 4A teams.

The Bulldogs are ranked 11th.

Baker scored all the goals it would need in the first half, as sophomore Jason Ludin and junior Aldo Duran each found the need.

“Our first goal came from a pass by Lizandro Rodriguez” Baker coach Victor Benites said. “He crossed it left to right where Jason Ludin was coming on the far post. Perfect timing, came with an opening goal just to tap it in.”

Duran scored on a rebound off a corner kick.

Baker keeper Noah Lien thwarted the Wolverines when they found an opening in the Baker defense.

“Defense was good, they did a really good job defending and getting them up the field for the strikers to get it and attempt to score, everyone did a really good job,” Benites said. “Noah Lein stayed the whole game, working to not let the other team score, great job overall. The team worked together much better.”

Baker returns to Idaho on Saturday, Sept. 16, this time traveling to Payette for a noon PDT match against the Pirates. The Bulldogs open league play Sept. 20 at La Grande at 4 p.m.

Baker’s JV boys team lost 4-2 at Weiser on Tuesday. Kane Hellberg scored both goals for the Bulldogs.