Hellgate boys edge Flathead in soccer

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead, Libby girls settle for ties in road matches

MISSOULA- An early goal by Western AA leader Missoula Hellgate ended up being the difference against Flathead on Saturday in boys soccer play.

The Knights narrowly defeated the Braves 1-0 on a goal by Colin Snodgrass in the second minute of play.

Flathead falls to 3-3 on the season.

The Braves fell behind early and head coach Chris Putzler said his team had a tough time recovering.

"(That early goal) got us freaked out a little bit and we started forcing things," he said.

The conference this year is evenly matched, with a hand full of teams tied on top of the standings.

"Everybody is within a game or two of first place," Putzler said.

"Every win is important. Every game is important."

Flathead had seven shots on goal to six for Hellgate.

Hellgate held the edge in corner kicks, 7-1.

Jordan Remington had seven goalie saves for Flathead.

The Braves host Missoula Big Sky on Thursday.

Flathead 0 0 - 0

Hellgate 1 0 - 1

Hellgate - Colin Snodgrass (Jonah Brown), 2:00

Shots on goal - Flathead 7, Hellgate 6

Corner kicks - Flathead 1, Hellgate 7

Goalie Saves - Flathead 7 (Jordan Remington), Hellgate 7 (Willow Skyrud)

Fouls - Flathead 11, Hellgate 16

Cards - None

Whitefish 1, Libby 0

LIBBY - Felix Hermsdorf's second-half goal stood up as Whitefish edged Libby in Northern A action.

Whitefish improves to 5-0 in conference play, 8-0-1 overall.

"I was extremely proud of my defense," Whitefish coach O'Brien Byrd said.

"In a game like that, with slippery conditions, playing on a football field, you really have to keep your focus and concentration."

Whitefish keeper Joe Galbraith had seven stops. Libby's Lewis Brossman had 15.

Libby slips to 6-2 and 4-1.

"I think Libby played a little better in the first half, and Whitefish played better in the second half and capialzied on a great scoring opportunity," Libby coach Charlie Webster said.

"We weren't able to (convert)."

Webster said Libby received a stellar performance from Dustin Morningstar on the defensive end.

"He made some great individual efforts to prevent some other goal scoring opportunities by Whitefish."

Whitefish had 16 shots on goal to 10 for Libby. The Loggers led in corner kicks, 4-3.

The Whitefish JV also came out on top, winning 3-0.

Libby faces Bonners Ferry, Idaho, on Tuesday in Troy in nonconference play. Whitefish travels to Polson on Friday.

Whitefish 0 1 - 1

Libby 0 0 - 0

Whitefish - Felix Hermsdorf (Federico Sau), 55:00

Shots on goal - Whitefish 16, Libby 10

Corner kicks - Whitefish 3, Libby 4

Goalie saves - Whitefish 7 (Joe Galbraith), Libby 15 (Lewis Brossman)

Fouls - Whitefish 16, Libby 7

Cards - None

Girls

Flathead 0,

Missoula Hellgate 0

MISSOULA - Flathead and Missoula Hellgate had scoring opportunities, but settled for tie.

"It was a good, hard- fought match," said Flathead coach Scott Warnell.

"Our defense deserves a lot of credit."

Warnell's defense is made up of two freshmen, one sophomore and one senior.

"That group has really stepped up this season," Warnell said.

Flathead's goalie tandem of Carli Kusler and Brittnay Earnest provided memorable heroics.

Kusler started at goalie, but in the middle of a play, she went after the ball and was kicked in the head by a Hellgate player. Kusler came out of the game with a sore jaw and a headache for 10 minutes. In the meantime, Earnest replaced her.

Minutes later, Hellgate surged down the field and booted a quick shot, but Earnest dove in the box and saved it.

"(Earnest) had a really nice save," Warnell said.

Flathead, 3-2-2, plays five more games. Its next match is against Missoula Big Sky at home on Thursday.

Flathead 0 0 - 0

Hellgate 0 0 - 0

Shots on goal - Flathead 8, Hellgate 16

Corner kicks - Flathead 0, Hellgate 4

Goalie saves - Flathead 16 (Carli Kusler 13, Brittnay Earnest 3), Hellgate 8 (Molly Callahan-Baumstark 8)

Fouls - Flathead 12, Hellgate 11

Cards - Hellgate, 1 yellow

Whitefish 1, Libby 1

LIBBY- Talk about brain power.

In the first half, Jaime Gildon used her head, instead of her feet, to score Libby's only goal. Teammate Anna Valentine sailed a corner kick and Gildon head-butted the ball into Whitefish's net.

"Both teams played hard today," Libby coach Matt Warner said.

The Whitefish Lady Bulldogs responded in the second half, even though two senior fielders went down with injuries. Whitefish head coach Lini Reading had to rely on an inexperienced bench and it paid off. Libby went scoreless in the second half.

"It was great to get (new players) that kind of experience in that kind of pressure," Reading said.

"I feel like the kids we have on the bench are fully able to play with anyone in the state, but they haven't had very much experience yet. So I'm glad they're getting out there."

Carly Lengstorf scored the game-tying goal for Whitefish after she poked one by Libby goalie Christina Schilling.

Whitefish had twice as many shots on goal as Libby with 12.

The tie technically leaves both teams undefeated in Northern A conference play with three games left before playoffs.

The Loggers, 7-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in league, play Bigfork twice in their last three games starting next Saturday. They finish the season against Whitefish.

The Lady Bulldogs, 6-2-1 overall and 4-0-1 in league, visit Polson next Friday to play at 6 p.m., followed by Columbia Falls and Libby.

Whitefish 0 1 - 1

Libby 1 0 - 1

Whitefish - Carly Lengstorf (Kelsey McCluskey), 57:00

Libby - Jaime Gildon (Anna Valentine), 7:00

Shots on goal - Whitefish 12, Libby 6

Corner kicks - Whitefish 10, Libby 9

Goalie saves - Whitefish 4 (Madisen Cross 2, Callie Marsh 2), Libby 10 (Christina Schilling)

Fouls - Whitefish 3, Libby 7

Cards - Libby, 2 yellow