Bravettes state bound
Flathead's Jaclyn Rauthe gets a hug from teammate Malia Ozegovich (5) at the end of the game, celebrating the team's advancing to the Class AA state tournament next weekend. Rauthe scored the team's second goal.
Flathead's Chelsea Shuman carries the ball up the field past Missoula Hellgate's Ellie Shields (6) in the first half of Friday afternoon's game in Kalispell.
Flathead's leading scorer had a tough afternoon on Friday.
Chelsea Shuman, a senior forward, had a shot hit the goal post, watched another sail just inches high over the crossbar and had several attempts stopped short of the mark by the Missoula Hellgate defense.
That left the door open for Sarah Cummins and Jaclyu Rauthe.
Those two were a winning combination as they accounted for all the scoring in a 2-0 Western AA playoff Bravette victory over the Knights.
Cummins scored 25 minutes into play with Rauthe assisting.
Rauthe followed 10 minutes a later with a goal off a Cummins assist.
Both goals were perfectly placed - high arching shots from the right side that slipped just under the crossbar and just inches over the reach of Hellgate keeper Cara Guderian.
"Those are really tough to defend," Flathead coach Scott Warnell said.
"Those high lofty goals.
"No, I wasn't surprised the goals came from them," he said of Cummins and Rauthe.
"I'm happy and excited to see that two girls who hadn't scored this year stepped up and got the two goals. We've gotten goals from a lot of different girls this year."
Warnell said the first goal helped his team relax a little bit in this winner goes to state match.
"We knew the longer we kept them in this game, the more pressure they would put on us," he said.
"It would make it tougher on us."
Flathead's second goal really put the pressure on Hellgate, which had only eight shots on goal, three coming in the first half.
Flathead finished with 17 shots on goal, 10 in the first half.
The Bravettes also held an edge in corner kicks 3-1.
Flathead keeper Karli Kusler had an uneventful outing, thanks to a rugged defense, and finished with five saves.
This marked the third shutout of the season for the Bravettes with two them coming against Hellgate.
Flathead came into the match as the second seed from Western AA, while Hellgate was No. 7. The Bravettes won the two earlier meetings with the Knights this fall 5-2 and 1-0.
Flathead will now face the C.M. Russell in first-round state tournament play on Thursday in Great Falls at 12:30 p.m. CMR defeated Great Falls High 4-0 on Friday in a Eastern AA playoff match.
The Bravettes, who did not advance to state a year ago, are making their fifth trip in Warnell's seventh season as head coach.
Missoula Hellgate 0 0 - 0
Flathead 2 0 - 2
FLATHEAD - Sarah Cummins (Jaclyn Rauthe), 25:00; Rauthe (Cummins), 35:00
Shots on goal - Hellgate 8, Flathead 17; Corner kicks - Hellgate 1, Flathead 3; Goalie saves - Hellgate 8 (Cara Guderian), Flathead 5 (Karli Kusler); Fouls - Hellgate 10, Flathead 7; Cards - 1 yellow both teams