Flathead gets rematch with Golden Bears

The Flathead High School girls soccer team rolled into last year's Class AA state tournament with a perfect record and Western AA's No. 1 seed. Billings West - Eastern AA's No. 4 seed - wasn't impressed and promptly bounced the Bravettes to the losers' bracket where they finished fourth.

Billings West's 3-1 upset victory shocked players and coaches throughout the state, including the Bravettes.

"I think we were surprised by them," said third-year Flathead coach Scott Warnell. "They came out and kind of pushed us around and took us out of our game and we had a hard time adjusting to it."

Flathead's roster hardly resembles last year's, thanks to the graduation of nine starters, including forward Jelisa Guy who continues her other-worldly play at Montana State University-Billings. Still, the Bravettes earned Western AA's No. 2 seed this year with a 7-1-2 conference record and 9-1-2 overall mark. They begin another state championship quest at noon today with a rematch against Billings West at Siebel Fields in Helena.

The Golden Bears are somewhat mysterious to Flathead because the Bravettes haven't played them or watched them since last year, but their reputation precedes them.

"Actually, Billings West has been known to come out and knock off top seeds in the first round of state," Warnell said. "We don't get a whole lot of news on the eastern teams. Really, the main thing that I know about Billings West is they always come out very aggressively, they're a physical team, they're always up to play at state and if we come out lackadaisical against them, thinking we're going to have an easy game, that's when we're going to pay."

Warnell said beating Billings West hinges on Flathead's ability to frustrate the Golden Bears by passing around them and not allowing them to fight for balls.

"We're definitely as good or better than they are, I feel, and if we come out and play the way we can, we should take care of them," Warnell said.

The Bravettes aren't a top seed or overwhelming tournament favorite, but they own a better record than outsiders expected in August.

"Teams are not expecting us or were not expecting us to do as good as we have," Warnell said. "I'm definitely excited to play Billings West again."

Since beginning the tournament as top dog didn't work last year, Flathead could benefit from playing slightly below the radar.

"I know that the west teams take us seriously, I don't know about the east, just because we never play them," Warnell said. "I don't know if they think the west is a weaker conference this year or if they think we just got lucky this year and have gotten by. I do think the east teams will be surprised at our skill level with only two returning starters."

The Bravettes have scored 49 goals this year - one more than through a dozen games last year.

"That's a big accomplishment for this team," Warnell said. "Everybody thought we were such a powerhouse last year and yet we scored more goals this year than we did last year."

Warnell said the Bravettes had a few letdowns in the middle of the season, which kept them from matching last year's flawless regular season.

"At the beginning of the year, I would have been very, very pleased with this record," Warnell said. "After being with them halfway through the season, I think we could have had a little better record."

Before the season, Warnell thought the Bravettes would thrive behind their core of young newcomers and returning reserves. He said most of his athletes had already played together for three years, including at the JV level. That time together led to Flathead's cohesiveness this year.

"They really bonded together, they trust each other, they get along real well with each other," Warnell said. "With girls soccer, that goes a long way. They've just been a pretty tight group the whole year and the two returning starters (junior Meghan O'Connell and senior Annie Braseth) have been real strong leaders for them and helped them develop as a team."

Warnell knew what to expect from O'Connell and Braseth and both fulfilled his expectations. O'Connell is Flathead's leading scorer and Braseth leads the Bravettes in assists.

But eight current Bravettes were at last year's state tournament and many of them, as well as several new varsity players, have been pleasant surprises.

Junior Kelsie Norwood played JV last year and traveled to the state tournament, but didn't play. She's been instrumental at sweeper for a defense which has allowed just one goal per game on average.

Jenae Lister played JV as a junior last year, but Warnell said "This year she's really stepped up and helped solidify our defense" playing in the back.

Junior Ally Krautbauer saw limited varsity time last year, but has given Flathead plenty of quickness at outside midfielder. The same is true for Ashley Younkin, who has provided a speedy spark while notching a few goals and assists.

Warnell said junior forward Keni VanBrunt "has done an outstanding job this year up front, along with (O'Connell)." VanBrunt sprained an ankle at practice this week, however, and her tournament availability is questionable.

The Flathead-Billings West winner faces today's Bozeman-Missoula Sentinel winner in Friday's semifinals. The loser heads to the losers' bracket where it plays the Bozeman-Missoula Sentinel loser Friday.