Prep Soccer: Whitefish scorches into playoffs
LIBBY - Whitefish boys soccer coach O'Brien Byrd got the news just before the Bulldogs took the field on Saturday in their Northern A regular season finale with Libby.
"We knew Polson won their game going into it, so we had to either win or tie," Byrd said.
"We went at 'em."
Whitefish scored five goals to beat Libby in a shutout to grab the No. 1 seed in the Class A soccer playoffs. Libby becomes the No. 2 seed, while Polson was eliminated.
"The goals were impressive, but I think the most impressive aspect of our game today was our defense," Byrd said. "(Goalie) Alex Whitaker played the game of his life."
Whitaker finished with 13 saves and Anto Daoud scored twice for Whitefish.
"They brought quite a team today," Libby coach Charlie Webster said. "It was an impressive showing."
Jon Reimer, Jack Steele and Curran Edland added goals for the Bulldogs, who will host the No. 3 seed out of the East on Saturday.
"Defensively I want to commend Tanner Hosek, Matt Danczyk, John Joern, and Taylor Thompson," Byrd said. "Our defense just stayed really focused."
Whitefish 2 3 - 5
Libby 0 0 - 0
WHITEFISH - Anto Daoud (Joel Bacher), 9:00; Jon Reimer (Travis Adams), 24:00; Daoud (Adams), 55:00; Jack Steele (Cristian Saavedra), 78:00; Curran Edland (Steele), 80:00.
Shots on goal - Whitefish 11, Libby 13
Goalie saves - Whitefish 13 (Alex Whitaker), Libby 6 (Lewis Brossman)
Corner kicks - Whitefish 3, Libby 2
Fouls - Whitefish 15, Libby 8
Cards - None
Polson 4, Bigfork 3
BIGFORK - Polson needed a win to keep its season alive and Joakim Kongelf responded.
Kongelf scored a game winner with six minutes left to play as Polson downed Bigfork in a spirited Northern A regular-season finale.
"Polson was playing for their playoffs lives and we gave them a match," Bigfork coach Keith Koslosky said. "We were competitive from end to end and we gave them everything they could have possibly asked for. It was a great battle. Hats off to them."
But the bad news for Polson came out of Libby later in the afternoon, as Whitefish earned the victory and bumped the Pirates out of the playoffs.
Bigfork jumped ahead 2-0 after the opening 10 minutes thanks to goals by Alec MacCallum and Lael Richmond. MacCallum notched another goal in the second half, which made it 11 total on the season for the senior, Koslosky said.
"The seniors provided tremendous leadership, their determination was unmatched," Koslosky said of MacCallum, Richmond, Skyler Doak and Keenan Evans.
Polson 3 1 - 4
Bigfork 2 1 - 3
POLSON - Jonathan Murphy (Adam Moore), 25:00; Sean Hart, 26:00; Will Wallace (James Larson), 39:00; Joakim Kongelf (Peter Hanson) 74:00.
BIGFORK - Alec MacCallum (Dillon Charlebois), 6:00; Lael Richmond (Charlebois), 9:00; MacCallum, 48:00
Shots on goal - Polson 14, Bigfork 8
Goalie saves - Polson 3 (Clay Frissell), Bigfork 9 (Austin Jordt)
Corner kicks - Polson 9, Bigfork 3
Fouls - Polson 9, Bigfork 7
Cards - Polson, yellow, red
Helena Capital 3, Flathead 1
HELENA - Helena scored early and often and dealt Flathead a loss in the second to last game of the Western AA regular season.
Capital scored in the opening minutes and notched a total of three goals in the first half.
"We played well, and worked well for each other. I don't have many complaints. We just had some defensive breakdowns," Flathead coach Chris Putzler said. "But the guys did a great job. Inexperience maybe caught up with us a little bit."
James McCarthy scored Flathead's lone goal off an assist from Irie Anderson in the 47th minute.
Putzler credited the hard work of Hunter Madich and Joaquin Calderon.
Sixth-place Flathead (1-9-1) wraps up regular season play against Big Sky at home on Saturday.
Flathead 0 1 - 1
Helena Capital 3 0 - 3
FLATHEAD - James McCarthy (Irie Anderson), 47:00
CAPITAL - Keegan Malany (Derik Chaney), 3:00; Joseph Schadt (Chaney), 14:00; Chaney, 24:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 13, Capital 15
Goalie saves - Flathead 6 (Jordan Remington), Helena 9 (Zack Clinch)
Corner kicks - Flathead 5, Capital 9
Fouls - Flathead 6, Capital 2
Cards - None
Girls
Libby 3, Whitefish 0
LIBBY - Anna Valentine scored two goals and Chrissy Vennes had one as Libby finished regular-season play undefeated.
"An unblemished record throughout the regular season is a great way to go into the playoffs," Libby coach Matt Warner said. "It's been a thrill. They're just really playing tight and when they do it's hard to beat them."
Valentine, on a perfectly placed free kick, put Libby on the board at 20 minutes. Her second goal was at 78. Valentine finishes the regular season with 15 goals and 15 assists. Jaime Gilden led the team with 19 goals and 5 assists.
"Libby knows how to capitalize on opportunities," Whitefish coach Erin Morrison said.
"They had three shots in the first half and two goals. They know how to score."
Libby (11-0 and 8-0) is the top seed for the upcoming playoffs.
Whitefish (6-4-2 and 5-3) is the No. 2 seed from Northwestern A and will host Frenchtown in a playoff match on Saturday.
"Sam Dittman had a great game today," Morrison said of her center-mid
"She really shut down Anna Valentine for most of the game."
Whitefish 0 0 - 0
Libby 2 1 - 3
LIBBY - Anna Valentine, 20:00; Chrissy Vennes (Valentine) 36:00; Valentine (Jaime Gilden), 78:00.
Shots on goal -Whitefish 9, Libby 8
Corner kicks - Whitefish 4, Libby 5
Goalie saves - Whitefish 4 (Madisen Cross 2, Callie Marsh 2), Libby 8 (Audra Poppen)
Fouls - Whitefish 8, Libby 2
Cards - Whitefish, 1 yellow
Helena Capital 1, Flathead 0
HELENA - Helena's Jaime Holst broke a 0-0 tie in the final minutes with a game-winning goal against Flathead in Western AA action.
"They just got it in behind our defense and got a good shot on goal," Bravettes coach Scott Warnell said.
Flathead outshot Capital 17-13, but couldn't get one by Helena goalie Lindsey Burns, who made 10 saves. Karli Kusler had 13 saves for sixth-place Flathead (2-4-5).
"We passed well but just didn't get our foot on the ball when we were taking our shots," Warnell said.
Tess Brenneman played aggresively at midfield for the Bravettes, Warnell said.
Flathead finishes the regular season on Saturday at home against first-place Big Sky.
Flathead 0 0 - 0
Helena Capital 0 1 - 1
CAPITAL- Jaime Holst (Kelsey Gray) 79:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 17, Capital 13
Goalie saves - Flathead 13 (Karli Kusler), Capital 10 (Lindsey Burns)
Corner kicks - Flathead 2, Capital 8
Fouls - Flathead 7, Capital 9
Cards - Flathead, two yellows, Capital two yellows
Bigfork 4, Polson 3
BIGFORK - Caitlin Charlebois and Kenna Hauns chipped in two goals apiece and Bigfork finished the season with a win over Northern A foe Polson.
"It's a good way to end the season. The girls played hard and it was nice for the seniors (Danielle Morris and Kaitlyn Shults) to end with a win," Bigfork coach Hauna Trennery said.
Charlebois started the scoring for Bigfork with a penalty kick at 13 minutes. Her second goal came just before the half with Quinci Paine assisting. Hauns scored her first off an assist from Sara Keenan and her second with the help of Taylor McElroy at 55 minutes.
Bigfork, who battled injuries and low numbers all season, finished 2-7-1 overall and 2-5-1 in conference. Polson ended up 0-8.
Polson 3 0 - 3
Bigfork 3 1 - 4
POLSON - Marissa Binder (Madeline Hewston), 26:00; Reegan VonWildenradt (penalty kick), 40:00; VonWildenradt, 40:00.
BIGFORK - Caitlin Charlebois (penalty kick) 13:30; Kenna Hauns (Sara Keenan), 29:00; Charlebois (Quinci Paine), 35:00; Hauns (Taylor McElroy), 55:00
Shots on goal - Polson 13, Bigfork 12
Goalie saves - Polson 6 (Jacie Morrison), Bigfork 10 (Danielle Morris)
Corner kicks - Polson 0, Bigfork 5
Fouls - Polson 5, Bigfork 10
Cards - None