tflagstad@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - Midway through the second half of the Century girls' soccer team's 4-1 win over Preston on Saturday, Michelle Burhle had a clear shot on net that likely would've resulted in a hat trick for the senior.

Instead, when she swung her right leg forward to launch a shot toward the net, her plant leg slipped, and she fell over. The ball stayed frozen a few steps inside the 18-yard box.

All she could do was crack a smile and joke with her teammates. After all, playing on a pitch covered with snow, there wasn't anything else she could do.

With thick, heavy flakes falling throughout the first half, the soccer match turned into a slapstick comedy in the second half as the players' cleats collected snow and eliminated all traction.

"Chaos," said Burhle, concisely summarizing the affair.

Still, the Diamondbacks (10-0-3) pulled through to capture the 4A Fifth District championship and earn another trip to the state tournament, which is set for Oct. 23-25 at the Boise Capital Soccer Complex. Century has its eyes on a fourth state title in the past five seasons.

"Four years in a row is really, really cool," Burhle said of returning to state. "I'm proud of the team. We really came together. Even though the conditions weren't great, we pulled it off."

Saying the conditions weren't great is like saying Death Valley gets a little hot in August.

When the match started, a thin blanket of snow covered the Century High field, and players moved around relatively well.

However, the fat flakes kept falling, and it was the type of snow that serves as perfect ammunition in a snowball fight but does nothing to help soccer players.

With each pass, the ball expanded like the bottom level of a snowman - which was fitting because someone built a small snowman next to the south goal - as it picked up more of the solid precipitation off the ground.

"It was really hard to transition and move," said Century's Brooke Dial, a senior defender. "Every time you tried to kick the ball, you always slipped, and the ball wouldn't move."

Before it got too bad, the Diamondbacks put two quick goals on the board.

Burhle broke free behind the Indians' defense in the seventh minute and fired a shot past keeper Kalie Brackin to make it 1-0.

In the 21st minute, sophomore Kaitlyn Smith found a wide-open Marais Hicks making a run down the right side of the field. The freshman Hicks put the ball into the left side of the net to make it 2-0.

Century put the game away in the 37th minute when Burhle drew a foul on a breakaway in Preston's penalty area, and she converted the resulting penalty kick to make it 3-0.

After halftime, staying upright proved to be enough of a challenge on the slippery surface, so making coordinated runs and placing precision through balls was nearly impossible.

Amid all the sliding and shivering, Century sophomore Jenika Johnson managed to break free to make it 4-0 in the 63rd minute, and Preston freshman Reagan Hyde scored her side's lone goal three minutes later.

"We all had a lot of fun. You could tell because everyone was laughing a lot, but we knew that it was a big game and that we needed to win it to go to state," Dial said of the second half. "We all tried really hard, and once we got up, we started having fun."

The Diamondbacks will have until Thursday to rest up before they play a state tournament seeding match against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Forecasts call for mostly sunny skies and a high of 60 degrees that day.

On Tuesday, Preston (11-5-0) will host Pocatello in a loser-out contest, as both teams will try to reach state via the backdoor route.