Braves defeat Bengals, 4-2

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Helene High en route to a 4-2 Class AA soccer victory Thursday afternoon at Kidsport.

Sean Riley, with goals at 21 and 30 minutes, gave the Braves a 2-0 lead at the half.

His first was off a penalty kick and the second off a free kick.

Kellen Murray, with an assist by Brendan Passmore, put the Braves up 3-0 at 44 minutes.

But back-to-back goals by Helena's Ryan Fonk and Steven Steffens at 72 and 75 minutes made for an interesting finish.

Jeremy DeHerrera cooled any upset thoughts the Bengals might have had with a goal at 80 minutes. Luke Thies assisted.

"The Braves combined strong defense, good passing and precision placement of free kicks by senior Sean Riley in the first half and hung on in the second to beat a good Bengal team," said FHS coach Tom McFarlane.

McFarlane said the FHS defense, with some inexperienced players filling in for a couple of injured starters, struggled late in the second half.

Passmore, a sophomore, turned in a strong game defensively while Luke Fischer, another sophomore, had an excellent game at forward.

Senior keeper Mack Andrews had a stellar showing with three saves.

"He made several spectacular saves of point-blank breakaway shots," said McFarlane.

McFarlane said Thies, who was assigned to Helena's all-state forward Josh Rynard, kept him in check.

"We've definitely got some work to do on defensive organization, but I'm happy with how the boys are playing this early in the season," said McFarlane.

"When we get seniors Kale Norwood and Stephen Bailon back in player, we should be formidable on the field with a strong bench."

The Braves, now 3-0, play Saturday at Helena Capital, noon.

BRAVES 4, BENGALS 2

Helena 2 2 - 2

Flathead 0 2 - 2

Helena - 72:00, Ryan Fonk (Kevin Harlan); 75:00, Steven Steffens.

Flathead - 21:00, Sean Riley; 30:00, Riley; 44:00, Kellen Murray (Brendan Passmore); 80:00, Jeremy DeHerrera (Luke Thies).

Shots on goal - Helena 9, Flathead 16

Corner kicks - Helena 7, Flathead 5

Goalie saves - Helena 7 (Brended Magil), Flathead 5 (Mack Andrews 3, Andrew Gill 2)

Fouls - Helena 10, Flathead 11

Flathead girls clip Helena High, 5-1

Megan Rice scored a goal and assisted on a second and Meghan O'Connell scored two goals as the Flathead Bravettes defeated visiting Helena High 5-1 Thursday in a Class AA soccer match.

Flathead (3-0) scored two goals in the first half and was up 5-0 until the final minute of play.

The Bravettes travel to Helena on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match versus Helena Capital.

"I thought we had really strong play out of our forwards today," said second-year head coach Scott Warnell.

"We've been having a problem finishing and I felt we did a lot better job at that today," he said.

The difference?

"Just good concentration. They got lots of good looks at the goal, kept the shots low and to the far post.

"We got very good play out of our midfield, passing the ball to our forwards to give them good opportunities, good looks at the goal," Warnell added.

Defensively, the Bravettes held the Bengals to nine shots.

"Most of those weren't good shots, either," Warnell said.

"I felt real good about the game."

Bravettes 5, Bengals 1

Helena High 0 1 - 1

Flathead 2 3 - 5

F - Megan Rice (Jessa Thiel), 10:00.

F - Jelisa Guy penalty kick 19:00.

F -Sarah Griffith, 61:00

F - Meghan O'Connell, penalty kick, 65:00

F -Meghan O'Connell (Megan Rice), 77:00 .

H - Whitney Haseman (Katie Forba), 79:00 .

Shots: Helena High 9, Flathead 31.

Cornerkicks: Helena 2, Flathead 5.

Saves: Helena 8 (Alicia Korn), Flathead 7 (Alyssa Younkin 7).

Fouls: Helena 3, Flathead 4.

Cards: Helena 1 yellow. Flathead none.