Hellgate sweeps Glacier kickers

Two Western AA matches left for Wolfpack

A cold wind blew in from Glacier Park Thursday and swept across the soccer pitch at Glacier High, leaving the home teams cold.

Hellgate picked up two versus the Wolfpack as the boys beat Glacier 2-1 in a hard fought contest. In the girls game, Hellgate picked up an early goal and rolled to a 4-1 victory.

Hellgate 2, Glacier 1

Both teams came to play defense.

In a match that featured just 11 shots on goal, Hellgate made the most of its opportunities. It was the second close match of the season between these two squads. Glacier won the first, 3-2.

"It was a tough game," said Glacier coach Ryan O'Rourke. "We're well matched with this team."

Hellgate forward Ian Hamilton opened the scoring with a goal off a centering pass from Brett Matthews. That came early in the first half, and the Knight defense was able to keep Glacier bottled up until intermission. The Wolfpack never really created a good scoring opportunity in the first 45 minutes.

Hellgate, on the other hand, had its chances. But Glacier goal keeper Kasey Haugan was solid in the net, including making a nice save when Knight forward Lucas Matelich had a breakaway in the opening moments of the match. Hellgate missed another chance to score when midfielder Kyle Hammond's shot banged off the cross bar.

It looked as though that goal might be enough, but the Wolfpack finally broke through midway in the second half. The goal came after a wild sequence that included three hand balls and a nifty bit of hustle from Glacier midfielder Mark Fallon.

After the third hand-ball call, Fallon quickly placed the ball near the sidelines deep in the corner. He launched his free kick before the Hellgate defense was able to set up, allowing Joseph Snyder to step in front of the Knight defense and drill the ball into the net.

"That was a quick restart," O'Rourke said. "Mark found Joey on the front post."

But the lead didn't hold up. Hellgate scored late in the game when a wide-open Colin Snodgrass took a pass just beyond the penalty box, dribbled to his right, and then fired a shot back to his left, just past the reach of a diving Haugan.

The Wolfpack closes the season with a home game versus Big Sky, and the regular-season finale against Flathead. Then it's a likely road contest to qualify for the state tournament.

The Western AA standings are a jumble, with not much separating the second through sixth-place teams. But O'Rourke said the Wolfpack will need to improve if it hopes to finish the season on an up note.

"If we're going to be successful, we're going to have to pick up the intensity level," he said.

Hellgate 1 1 - 2

Glacier 0 1 - 1

Hellgate - Ian Hamilton (Brett Matthews) 7:00, Colin Snodgrass (Jonah Brown) 70:00.

Glacier - Joseph Snyder (Mark Fallon) 62:00.

Shots on goal - Hellgate 7, Glacier 4

Goalie saves - Hellgate 1 (Willow Skyrud), Glacier 2 (Kasey Haugan)

Corner kicks - Hellgate 2, Glacier 4

Fouls - Hellgate 10, Glacier 6

Cards - Hellgate 2, Glacier 0

Girls

Hellgate 4, Glacier 1

Things didn't start well for Glacier. Moments into the game, goal keeper Kayla Byle had already recorded a pair of saves as the Wolfpack defense allowed Hellgate to drive the ball deep into Glacier's end of the field.

Then at the 2-minute mark, Byle appeared to rein in save No. 3.

Unfortunately she mishandled the cold, slick ball, allowing Nicole Wilkins to practically walk the ball into the net for what was the first of her two goals.

Glacier evened the match later in the first half when forward Maddey Frey made the kind of play that has earned her the reputation as one of the best forwards in the state. Frey took a pass from Sidney Sharaf near the top of the penalty box, bounced a pass to herself off a Hellgate defender, and then just beat goal keeper Molly Callahan-Baumstark. It was close enough that Callahan-Baumstark got her hands on the shot, but couldn't control it. The ball trickled so slowly into the north goal that if the wind had been blowing any harder, the shot might not have made it.

Glacier had opportunities to take the lead later in the half, but came up empty. Too often the Wolfpack was its own worst enemy.

"We broke down a little bit with our passing," Glacier coach Paul Holmgren said.

Instead of hitting open players with crisp passing the Wolfpack often just knocked the ball back to Hellgate's defense and ended up chasing the ball instead of attacking.

And Hellgate took advantage. The Knights regained the lead late in the half when Hannah Karlsson received the corner kick from Jane Shober and fired a shot just over Byle's outstretched hands for a goal. Hellgate might have added another, but Byle made a diving save seconds before the referee blew the whistle for intermission. Byle practically grabbed the ball off Shober's foot when the Hellgate midfielder raced open on a breakaway.

Hellgate added two more goals in the second half. Hannah Johnson scored on a driving shot from outside the penalty box, and Wilkins added her second of the game midway through the half.

The secret is out about Frey's scoring prowess. Hellgate shadowed her with a pair of defenders the entire match. With the Wolfpack off its game offensively, the Knights spent most of the match on offense. It showed in the stats as Hellgate out shot Glacier nearly two-to-one.

Hellgate 2 2 - 4

Glacier 1 0 - 1

Hellgate - Nicole Wilkins (Emmilia Johnson) 2:00, Hannah Karlsson (Jane Shober) 37:00, Hannah Johnson (Taylor Simkins) 56:00, Wilkins (Karlsson) 63:00.

Glacier - Maddey Frey (Sidney Sharaf) 13:00.

Shots on goal - Hellgate 17, Glacier 10

Goalie saves - Hellgate 9 (Molly Callahan-Baumstark), Glacier 11 (Kayla Byle)

Corner kicks - Hellgate 3, Glacier 3

Fouls - Hellgate 12, Glacier 4

Cards - Hellgate 1, Glacier 0