Bulldogs bump Broncs

The Daily Inter Lake

Hermsdorf, Danczyk, Adams score playoff goals for Whitefish

WHITEFISH - Felix Hermsdorf helped Whitefish get off to a fast start and the Bulldogs rolled from there, drubbing Hamilton 4-1 in first-round action of the Class A boys soccer playoffs at Smith Fields on Saturday.

Hermsdorf scored at five and 11 minutes. Matt Danczyk gave Whitefish a 3-0 lead at the half with a goal at 38 minutes.

Travis Adams, 53rd minute, completed Whitefish's scoring.

"We were missing two starters due to sickness (Carson DePratu) and a muscle injury (Patrick Jones)," O'Brien Byrd said.

"We ended up shifting some guys. When we shifted them, that put two guys (Tanner Hosek and John Joern) who never started a varsity game before at outside defender. To say they stepped up and played well is putting it lightly. They had an opportunity to start for us, we had to put our faith in them, and they came through."

The victory pushed Whitefish's season record to 12-0-1. The two-time defending state champions have not lost in 43 matches.

Hamilton ended its season at 6-7.

Whitefish will play at Billings Central on Saturday in the semifinal round. Central edged Stevensville 1-0 on Saturday.

Whitefish and Central tied 1-1 on Sept. 5 in Whitefish.

"The boys are excited to play them again," Byrd said.

"And that's motivation enough.

"At this point, it doesn't have to be pretty, or perfect. At this point, we just have to win. There is a lot of pressure (on us). We have really responded well under the pressure."

Hamilton 0 1 - 1

Whitefish 3 1 - 4

Hamilton - Damon Stevens, 62:00

Whitefish - Felix Hermsdorf, 5:00; Hermsdorf (Federico Sau), 11:00; Matt Danczyk, 38:00; Travis Adams (Hermsdorf), 53:00

Shots on goal - Hamilton 2, Whitefish 21

Corner kicks - Hamilton 1, Whitefish 6

Goalie saves - Hamilton 13 (Nash Johnson), Whitefish 2 (Joe Galbraith)

Fouls - Hamilton 8, Whitefish 7

Cards - Hamilton 1 yellow, Whitefish 1 yellow

Libby 5, Livingston 4, OT

LIVINGSTON - Evan May's header off a corner kick by Nick Reny with one minute left in the second 10-minute overtime period lifted Libby over Livingston.

"I think that might be his fourth, or fifth goal (this season)," Libby coach Charlie Webster said. "But he's been a great leader on the team."

The victory advances Libby to semifinal play on Saturday. The Loggers will host Bigfork, a 1-0 winner on Friday over Corvallis.

Libby improves to 8-4-1. Livingston winds up 8-2.

Livingston, thanks to a steady backwind, took a 4-2 first-half lead.

"We had a lot of confidence," Webster said. "We were prepared to be mentally behind with the wind blowing (against us in the first half). We didn't panic. We showed a lot of character.

"We kind of had a plan (with the wind at our backs in the second half)," Webster continued. "We put more forwards up front."

Libby scored twice in the second half. The Loggers tied it up at 4-4 on Cree Maloney's goal at 55 minutes. Assisting on the score was his brother Cyrus Maloney.

The wind did let up with 20 minutes left in regulation.

Neither team scored in the first 10-minute overtime period.

"Both teams were pretty fatigued," Webster said.

Libby 2 2 1 - 5

Livingston 4 0 0 - 4

Libby - Kyle Berke (Cyrus Maloney), 8:00; Berke, 17:00; Berke (Cree Maloney), 54:00; Cree Maloney (Cyrus Maloney), 55:00; Evan May (Nick Reny), 99:00.

Livingston - Cameron Macallister, 12:00; Macallister, 23:00; Macallister, 24:00; own goal, 27:00.

Shots on goals - Libby 20, Livingston 16

Corner kicks - Libby 3, Livingston 7

Goalie saves - Libby 16 (Lewis Brossman), Livingston 9 (Ethan Perry)

Fouls - Libby 12, Livingston 28

Cards - Livingston, 2 yellow

Whitefish girls slip past Belgrade in A soccer playoffs

The Daily Inter Lake

BELGRADE - Carly Lengstorf gave Whitefish an early lead with a goal 14 minutes into play, and later assisted on another one as the Lady Bulldogs downed Belgrade 2-1 in opening-round Class A girls soccer playoff action on Saturday.

Natalie Gayner scored Whitefish's other goal at the 58 minute mark.

"I felt that the game, stat- wise, was almost identical," WHS coach Lini Reading said. "It was a battle in the midfield. We controlled the ball well the whole game."

Reading said the back four defense (Hayley Murphy, Kelsey McCluskey, Megan Apple and Karissa DeMarco) "played very organized and aggressively and played very smart.

"It was a complete and total team effort," she added.

"It was a huge game of heart."

Belgrade avoided the shutout with Jamie Greany's goal at 65 minutes.

Whitefish will play a semifinal match at Hamilton later this week.

Whitefish 1 1 - 2

Belgrade 0 1 - 1

Whitefish - Carly Lengstorf (Megan Apple), 14:00; Natalie Gayner (Lengstorf), 58:00

Belgrade - Jamie Greany (Abby Miller), 65:00

Shots on goal - Whitefish 9, Belgrade 9

Corner kicks - Whitefish 2, Belgrade 3

Goalie saves - Whitefish 9 (Madisen Cross), Belgrade 6 (Emily Schmit)

Fouls - Whitefish 6, Belgrade 4

Cards - None

Hamilton 5,

Columbia Falls 4, OT

HAMILTON - Shenoa Weeks' goal with two minutes left in the first 10-minute overtime period gave Hamilton the first-round playoff victory.

Neither team scored in the 10-minute second overtime period.

Columbia Falls forced overtime when McKenzie Reeve scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation play.

Elena Potter and Sophie Peterson had first-half goals for the Wildkats, who led 2-1.

Chelsea Brangoccio scored three times for Hamilton.

Hamilton had 19 shots on goal to 16 for Columbia Falls.

Hamilton will host Whitefish in semifinal play later this week.

Columbia Falls 2 2 1 - 4

Hamilton 1 3 0 - 5

Columbia Falls - Elena Potter 4:00; Sophie Peterson, 37:00; McKenzie Reeve, 78:00; Reeve, 79:00

Hamilton - Chelsea Brangoccio (Maria Zepeda) 27:00; Brangoccio (Shenoa Weeks), 43:00; Michelle Jones (Bry Gordon), 45:00; Brangoccio (Jones), 47:00; Weeks (Jones) 88:00

Shots on goal - Columbia Falls 16, Hamilton 19

Corner kicks - Columbia Falls 4, Hamilton 7

Goalie saves - Columbia Falls 11 (Niesha Thompson), Hamilton 8 (Megan Baker)

Fouls - Columbia Falls 7, Hamilton 16.

Cards - Columbia Falls 1 yellow, Hamilton 1 yellow

Libby 6, Corvallis 0

LIBBY - Jamie Gilden scored two goals and assisted on another, and Anna Valentine also had two goals as Libby cruised past Corvallis in a first-round playoff match.

Kaila Forster and Ashley Shaw completed the scoring for the Loggers, 11-1-1.

Corvallis ends its season at 3-8-1.

"The girls played really well together," Libby coach Matt Warner said.

"It took them 10 shots before they got one in, but after that, they just kept coming. They looked really solid."

Libby outshot Corvallis 24-1.

Libby advances to a semifinal match at Billings Central on Saturday. Central blanked Stevensville 5-0 in playoff action in Billings.

Corvallis 0 0 - 0

Libby 3 3 - 6

Libby - Anna Valentine (Jamie Gilden), 26:00; Kaila Forster, 30:00; Gilden, 37:00; Gilden, 43:00; Valentine, 52:00; Ashley Shaw, 78:00.

Shot on goal - Corvallis 1, Libby 24

Corner kicks - Corvallis 1, Libby 4

Goalie saves - Corvallis 8 (Danielle Morris), Libby 2 (Christina Shilling)

Fouls - Corvallis 3, Libby 9

Cards - None.