All eyes on C-Falls, Whitefish, Flathead

The Class A girls soccer season is a good news/bad news proposition - good news for Columbia Falls, bad news for everybody else.

The defending state champion Wildkats return 13 regulars, including the leading scorer in the state, Lisa Carter.

"We look pretty good," Columbia Falls coach Greg Trenerry said. "I know we're going to be competitive.

"We have a great core back. We did lose some good players, but we were real deep last year. We still manage to have subs at almost every position."

Carter, who had 27 goals and 18 assists last year, leads the way for the Wildkats who will be defending their first ever state title after defeating Laurel 6-1.

"We'll be competitive if we work hard," Trenerry said. "We have some other girls that have been working hard."

Elsewhere, Bigfork loses all-state performer Hannah Hilley and all-conference picks Torrie Hoye and Coria Appleton off a team that went 0-12.

Whitefish should be a factor in the conference race. The Bulldogs lost to eventual state runner-up Laurel in the second round of the playoffs last year.

"Hamilton Whitefish and Corvallis," said Trenerry when asked who he thought were the best teams in the state.

"Park's not a bad team, but you never know. We didn't expect Laurel to be there last year."

In Class A boys soccer, Whitefish returns only two all-conference players -sweeper Nate Breese and midfielder Koben Williams - but should nevertheless be a strong club.

"On paper, it reads like we have a youthful team, but we're going to be a forceful team," Bulldogs coach O'Brien Byrd said. "Our goal is to win the state championship."

Whitefish returns 10 varsity players.

"And we have eight incoming younger players with a lot of talent," Byrd said. "We're extremely excited about this year's program. After five days of practice, we're where we were at at the last game of the season last year in terms of chemistry, cohesiveness and skill level.

"Our midfield is going to be the strong suit of our team. We've got guys that can battle on both sides of the ball."

Columbia Falls, as it has been the last few years, will be a contender. The Wildcats came up one goal shot of defending their state championship of 2003, falling 2-1 to Hamilton.

"Hamilton lost quite a few seniors to graduation and Columbia Falls lost a few," Byrd said. "It's going to be an exciting couple of games with Columbia Falls this year."

On issue that is of almost universal disdain among the Class A coaches is the postseason format, which will again eschew a tournament in favor of a football-type bracket.

"We'd love to have a tournament," Trenerry said. "But it all comes down to someone bidding for it."

Said Byrd: "The problem is there's very few single-A communities that can host such a tournament. You need multiple fields, hotels. There's only two, maybe three in the state, and they have to be willing to host it.

"Whitefish was willing two years ago, and they might be again in the near future, but it would be nice to have a state tournament.

"Every soccer coach I've talked to wants it back."

In Class AA, the Flathead Braves took third at the state tournament, losing in the semifinals to Billings Senior in a shootout.

The Braves return seven starters and 11 letter winners, including Sean Riley, a two-time all-state forward; Zach Brenneman, an all-state sweeper; and Jeremy DeHerrera.

"This team is experienced," FHS coach Tom McFarlane said. "The seniors have played together at high levels of competition.

"The team is senior-heavy, which hopefully will mean maturity and composure. We are strong at positions all over the field, have good speed and size, and exceptional foot skills, especially in the attacking third of the field.

"Senior keeper Mack Andrews was, in my opinion, one of the best last season but had to play in the shadow of all-stater Brock Jahner," McFarlane continued. "Mack will be more than ready to assume keeper duties.

"As always, team chemistry will be a crucial factor in our success. The seniors will need to maintain a good work ethic and incorporate the younger players into the team. The bench will be one of the question marks, having little or no varsity experience."

The Helena schools and Missoula Sentinel will be strong in the west and Billings Senior, Great Falls and Bozeman out of the east.

The Bravettes missed out on a trip to the state tournament last year, losing to Missoula Sentinel in a playoff.

Leading scorer Jelisa Guy returns for her senior season after scoring 15 goals in her junior campaign. Keeper Alyssa Younkin is also back. The Bravettes lose only four seniors off last season's 7-4-2 club.