Bravettes zap Bulldogs
The Daily Inter Lake
BUTTE - Meghan O'Connell scored two goals, Annie Braseth registered a goal and an assist and the Flathead High School girls soccer team blanked Butte 4-0 on Saturday.
The Bravettes (8-2-1, 6-2-1) scored twice in each half, including a Heidi Windauer goal in the 69th minute.
"The nice thing about this win is it locked up second place for us, so we don't have to worry about a play-in game for state, but we still need to work on connecting our passes better," said Flathead coach Scott Warnell.
The Bulldogs (1-9-1, 1-7-1) have struggled this year, but goalkeeper Addie Rogers had 18 saves and impressed Warnell.
Flathead goalkeepers Danika Pietron and Molly Benedetto combined for nine saves to preserve the shutout.
The Bravettes conclude Western AA play at Missoula Big Sky on Thursday.
Flathead 2 2 - 4
Butte 0 0 - 0
Flathead - Meghan O'Connell (Annie Braseth), 9:00; Braseth, 25:00; O'Connell, 53:00; Heidi Windauer, 69:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 24, Butte 9
Corner kicks - Flathead 10, Butte 4
Goalie saves - Flathead 9 (Danika Pietron 4, Molly Benedetto 5), Butte 18 (Addie Rogers)
Total fouls - Flathead 9, Butte 10
Cards - None
Libby 2, Bigfork 0
LIBBY - The Libby High School girls soccer team is playoff bound after topping Bigfork on Saturday.
The Loggers (6-6, 2-4) will open the Class A playoffs at Hamilton, joining Whitefish and Columbia Falls as Northern A's postseason representatives.
Libby took the lead in the 60th minute on an own goal by Bigfork and Brittany Martin iced the game by scoring on a penalty kick 11 minutes later.
"To Bigfork's credit, they came out very aggressive and put some pressure on us," said Libby coach Aaron Frohnmayer. "If it wasn't for two amazing saves by (goalkeeper) Audra Poppen, we would have been down 2-0 in the first half."
Frohnmayer knows Southern A champion Hamilton will be a stiff test for his young squad.
"We're realistic, but we're going to do what we can to be competitive next weekend," Frohnmayer said.
Bigfork 0 0 - 0
Libby 0 2 - 2
Libby - Own goal, 60:00; Brittany Martin, 71:00
Shots on goal - Bigfork 7, Libby 15
Corner kicks - Bigfork 3, Libby 3
Goalie saves - Bigfork 7 (NA), Libby 4 (Audra Poppen 3, Christina Shilling 1)
Total fouls - Bigfork NA, Libby NA
Cards - None
Hamilton 4, Polson 0
POLSON - Naomi Crane scored two goals and Michelle Jones had a goal and an assist as Hamilton closed out regular-season victory over Polson.
Hamilton outshot Polson 14-2 in the match and led in corner kicks 10-0.
Hamilton 1 3 - 4
Polson 0 0 - 0
Hamilton - Alissa Johnson (Rachelle Eggleston), 24:00; Naomi Crane (Shanoa Weeks), 42:00; Crane (Michelle Jones), 70:00; Jones 78:00
Shots on goal - Hamilton 14, Polson 2
Corner kicks - Hamilton 10, Polson 0
Goalie saves - Hamilton 1 (Jessica Huseby), Polson 7 (Merilee Mowbray 6, Beth Hart)
Total fouls - Hamilton 11, Polson 4
Cards - None
Boys
Flathead 5, Butte 1
BUTTE - There is still room for improvement, but Andrew Gill and the Flathead Braves are back on track.
Gill notched a hat trick Saturday as the Flathead High School boys soccer team beat Butte, rebounding nicely from its 3-0 loss at Missoula Sentinel two days prior.
Luke Fischer had four assists, Connor Cavigli had one, and Chresten Knaff and Cameron Clevidence scored once each for Flathead.
"We didn't play as well as we could have," said Flathead coach Eric Sawtelle. "Our boys came out with the intensity they needed to win, but we didn't connect the passes and shoot the ball like we would have liked to."
Flathead goalkeeper Jordan Vaughan made nine saves and Zach Sharon scored Butte's goal on a John Blaskovich assist in the 43rd minute.
"We played great defensively (Saturday) - communication was a lot better, we were calling out our marks," Sawtelle said.
The Braves (9-2, 8-1) finish Western AA play at Missoula Big Sky on Thursday.
Flathead 3 2 - 5
Butte 0 1 - 1
Flathead - Andrew Gill (Luke Fischer), 4:00; Gill (Fischer), 11:00; Chresten Knaff (Connor Cavigli), 37:00; Gill (Fischer), 41:00; Cameron Clevidence (Fischer), 78:00
Butte - Zach Sharon (John Blaskovich), 43:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 13, Butte 8
Corner kicks - Flathead 0, Butte 4
Goalie saves - Flathead 9 (Jordan Vaughan), Butte 4 (NA)
Total fouls - Flathead 15, Butte 5
Yellow cards - Flathead 0, Butte 1
Bigfork 2, Libby 2
LIBBY - Roland Benedict scored twice as the Bigfork High School boys soccer team tied Libby on Saturday.
In the final Northern A match for both teams, Benedict gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute and regained their lead in the 55th minute.
Christian Byrd scored Libby's first goal off a Neil Young assist in the 20th minute and Riley Hoyer notched the game's final score off Mike Schilling's assist in the 62nd minute.
"(Bigfork) played very well, we played very well," said Libby coach Mike Wickstrom.
"It's been an interesting season because the guys have been on a rise through the season, getting gradually closer and closer and they earned a (playoff) berth."
Bigfork's season is over, but Libby visits Hamilton in the Class A playoffs.
Bigfork 1 1 - 2
Libby 1 1 - 2
Bigfork - Roland Benedict, 18:00; Benedict, 55:00
Libby - Christian Byrd (Neil Young), 20:00; Riley Hoyer (Mike Shilling), 62:00
Shots on goal - Bigfork 8, Libby 23
Corner kicks - Bigfork 4, Libby 5
Goalie saves - Bigfork 16 (NA), Libby 4 (Scott Harlow)
Total fouls - NA
Cards - None
Hamilton 3, Polson 0
POLSON - Brandon Syme scored two goals and assisted on another as the Hamilton High School boys soccer team beat Polson in a Southern A match on Saturday.
Syme scored in the 11th and 50th minutes and assisted Luke Swarthout's goal in the 71st minute. Aaron Hyatt assisted Syme's second goal.
Hamilton had more than three times as many shots as Polson, but the Pirates (2-8-2, 2-5-1) kept the match close until late in the second half.
"I think our guys played real well in this match," said Polson coach Jess Kittle. "There's nothing for them to be ashamed about or hang their heads about. They played hard and Hamilton is a better team than us this year and we played them as best we could."
It was Polson's final match of the season.
Hamilton 1 2 - 3
Polson 0 0 - 0
Hamilton - Brandon Syme, 11:00; Syme (Aaron Hyatt), 50:00; Luke Swarthout (Syme), 71:00
Shots on goal - Hamilton 25, Polson 8
Corner kicks - Hamilton 8, Polson 1
Goalie saves - Hamilton 5 (Brian Sheaham), Polson 13 (Brandon Kittle)
Total fouls - Hamilton 18, Polson 19
Yellow cards - Hamilton 1, Polson 2