The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish soccer sweeps Polson

WHITEFISH - Madison Ruskit scored in her first game with the defending Class A state champions Tuesday as the Whitefish High School girls' soccer team edged Polson 2-0 in a Northern A match at Memorial Field.

After a scoreless first half, Ruskit took a pretty pass from Teal Gayner and launched it inside the near post to give Whitefish a 1-0 lead in the 60th minute.

Gayner assisted Whitefish's second goal as well, taking a pass from Kaitlyn Sleichter and feeding it to Kylee Smith, who made one touch before scoring in the 77th minute.

Whitefish improved to 4-1 in conference and 4-3 overall after falling at Libby on Saturday for its first Northern A loss in two years.

"It's always nice to get a win under the lights with a homecoming crowd, and to feel like we came away from a really bad day feeling better," Whitefish coach Lini Reading said.

The Lady Pirates dropped to 2-3 in Northern A play and 3-6 overall, despite 21 saves by goalkeeper Merilee Mowbray.

Polson 0 0 - 0

Whitefish 0 2 - 2

WHITEFISH - Madison Ruskit (Teal Gayner), 60:00; Kylee Smith (Kaitlyn Sleichter and Gayner), 78:00

Shots on goal - Pol. 3, WF 28

Corner kicks - Pol. 0, WF 6

Goalie saves - Pol. 21 (Merilee Mowbray), WF 2 (Mariah Driscoll)

Fouls - Pol. 3, WF 3

Cards - None

Bulldogs 6, Pirates 0

WHITEFISH - Jonas Magstadt scored four goals as Whitefish led 5-0 at halftime and cruised to its 23rd straight victory.

Preston Taylor added a pair of goals as the Bulldogs improved to 5-0 in Northern A play and 8-0 overall.

"I was really happy with the shutout," Whitefish coach O'Brien Byrd said. "Polson created five or six quality chances and we were able to snuff them out."

The Bulldogs played their second straight game on a football field after battling Libby on Saturday, but they overcame the tight dimensions by keeping the ball on the ground and playing quickly.

"We controlled the tempo and dictated play all night. It was fun to watch and a pleasure to witness a good overall team effort," Byrd said.

Jacob Browne tallied 17 saves for Polson, which dropped to 0-5 in Northern A play and 0-7-1 overall.

Polson 0 0 - 0

Whitefish 5 1 - 6

WHITEFISH - Preston Taylor (Matt Grindrod), 6:00; Jonas Magstadt (Taylor), 7:00; Magstadt (Shane Widdifield), 14:00; Taylor (Alex Konopatzke), 20:00; Magstadt (Konopatzke), 35:00; Magstadt (Taylor), 70:00

Shots on goal - Pol. 4, WF 11

Corner kicks - Pol. 1, WF 10

Goalie saves - Pol. 17 (Jacob Browne), WF 3 (Joe Galbraith)

Fouls - Pol. 11, WF 14

Cards - Pol. 0, WF 1 (yellow)