Whitefish girls face Belgrade in semifinals

The Daily Inter Lake

When the Lady Bulldogs take the pitch at Belgrade on Saturday, they will see plenty of familiar faces. So will the Panthers.

Whitefish was host to Belgrade in last year's Class A girls soccer state-championship game, which the Panthers won 1-0. Both teams return virtually intact.

Whitefish coach Lini Reading said Belgrade graduated only one player from last year's squad. The Lady Bulldogs are still without senior Alex White, who underwent an emergency appendectomy last Friday, but they will have senior captain Jen Joern, who missed last year's championship game due to injury.

Reading said last year's title game was crisp, tightly-contested and very even.

"It really was and I anticipate a really good game this year too," Reading said. "Obviously, we have to hope that both teams come in focused and stay mentally clear throughout the contest, no matter who scores first and what happens."

Whitefish began its postseason by beating visiting Laurel 4-0 last Saturday. The Panthers topped Corvallis 4-1 the same day to set up the Whitefish-Belgrade rematch.

"Revenge hasn't had anything to do with it," Reading said. "Our goal was (to play) 15 games this year. We've made it through 13 and our motto after the last one is ÔOne down, two to go' and it doesn't matter who we're playing."

Belgrade won it all despite playing with several freshmen last year. But Readng said those freshmen were already used to playing in high-pressure games and the Lady Bulldogs are much more seasoned than a year ago.

"I feel like this year we have a little more of that under our belt because most of these kids have played in a state title game already and felt that pressure," Reading said.

Whitefish cruised through its Northern A schedule with a 6-0 mark and stands at 11-2 overall. The Lady Bulldogs' first lost came against Class AA power Flathead.

But the Panthers played the Eastern A to a 5-1 record and are 8-2-3 overall, thanks largely to speedy sophomore forwards Jamie Greany, Kelsey Carraciolo and Alisha Novotny.

"Belgrade has the fastest team speed in the state and I don't think there's a coach in the state that would argue with me," Reading said. "It's no secret they're going to try to exploit teams with their speed."

Still, Reading said Saturday's 1 p.m. game should be another defensive struggle.

"I hope so - that's the way it should be," Reading said. "It should be tight, tight, tight. Mistakes are made and the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to come out on top, and if a team breaks down mentally, it could be different."

Whitefish has played stout team defense all year, allowing just two goals against Class A competition. Stopper Sarah Clark and goalkeeper Kirstin NallyMadigan were spectacular against Laurel.

"I'm proud of my defense and I'm hoping that they can answer the call that Belgrade's going to send them," Reading said. "My defense, hopefully, will be organized enough not to give up many (breakaways)."

She's in her 13th season at Whitefish's helm, but Reading conceded it's always tough to read young athletes. She has been stressing a message to her players this week, which she hopes they already understood.

"Everything you do from now to Saturday will influence the outcome," said Reading of factors such as nutrition, hydration and sleep.

The spectators at Saturday's 1 p.m. game will be treated to great soccer, but Reading said she and other Class A coaches throughout the state would prefer a state tournament so even more fans could watch each game.

"I wish that we could be at a tournament atmosphere where there could be a ton of people, but Belgrade came here and took it from us, so there's no reason we can't go there and try to take it from them," Reading said.