Guy's four goals lift Flathead
The Bravettes soccer team showed why it is undefeated Saturday night, beating Whitefish 7-0 in a no-conference game at Legends Stadium. Flathead senior Jelisa Guy scored four goals in an exciting, but lopsided game.
The Lady Bulldogs did a good job of fending off Flathead's attacking forwards. But 12 minutes into the match, Guy was hit hard by a Whitefish defender. The referee awarded Guy a penalty kick, which she made.
Five minutes later, Megan Rice scored the Bravettes' second goal off a well-placed corner kick by Annie Braseth. Flathead constantly kept the ball near the Lady Dogs' net, but didn't score again in the first.
The small, vocal crowd appreciated the fast action, especially on a series of near misses by the Bravettes.
Keni VanBrunt kicked a long floater over Whitefish goalkeeper Kirsten NallyMadigan's hands that bounced off the top post and ricocheted into a crowd where Flathead's Samantha Riebe was waiting. Riebe headed the ball hard, but NallyMadigan made a diving block to deny the score.
Although the rain held off during the game, the wet week left the field extremely soft. By halftime, center field was a pit, and the players were covered in mud.
Flathead coach Scott Warnell made a few adjustments at the half, and the strategy paid off. For the second period, the Bravettes utilized three forwards instead of two, which allowed them to reel off another five goals.
"We were able to add pressure and spread out Whitefish's defense," Warnell said.
"They played hard against us, and held us to two goals in the first."
Whitefish had scoring chances in the early part of the second half, but Flathead's goalie Alyssa Younkin scooped up the shots.
"Our defense is awesome," Guy said. "They don't get enough credit for what they do."
Six minutes into the second, Emily Lewis made a long drive and hit Guy running up the middle for Flathead's third goal. After that, the Bravettes dominated the game with offensive pressure and quality passing.
"We played with a great deal of intensity, and the girls kept their composure under that kind of pressure and superior play," Whitefish coach Lini Reading said.
"Our goalie made some amazing saves, and the shots [Flathead] did score on were superb."
Flathead sophomore Meghan O'Connell was also involved in numerous big plays. Her hustle and frequent shots on goal helped set up three of the Bravettes' seven goals. One of her headers bounced off the post and fell in front of an open net at Sarah Griffith's feet halfway through the second. The Whitefish goalie scrambled for the ball, but it was too late.
Fifteen minutes after her assist, O'Connell finally earned a goal of her own.
Guy then finished what she started by scoring Flathead's last goal near the end of the game.
"We played awesome," Guy said.
"Our goal was to score more points on this field than our football team has."
The Bravettes have some work to do if they want to achieve that. The Braves have actually scored 21 points so far this season at Legends Stadium.
Flathead's win moves them to 7-0 in conference play and 9-0 overall. The girls have just three games left before state and play Missoula Sentinel on Thursday.
Whitefish now stands at 4-0 in league play and 7-2-1 overall. The Lady Dogs play at Columbia Falls on Thursday, 5 p.m.
Bravettes 7, Bulldogs 0
Whitefish 0 0 - 0
Flathead 2 5 - 7
Flathead - 12:17 Jelisa Guy, 17:06 Megan Rice (Annie Braseth), 46:07 Guy (Emily Lewis), 52:36 Guy (Meghan O'Connell), 58:15 Sarah Griffith (O'Connell), 74:34 O'Connell, 78:29 Guy (Rice)
Shots on goal - Whitefish 6, Flathead 34
Corner kicks - Whitefish 1, Flathead 9
Goalie saves - Whitefish 16, Flathead 3 (Alyssa Younkin)
Fouls - Whitefish 1, Flathead 6
Cards - None