Flathead girls, Glacier boys rule in crosstown soccer
<p>Flathead sophomore Paige Birky (19) fights to keep possession of the ball with Glacier defenders Morgan Meier (8) and Abbe Breeding (24) during the crosstown</p><p>soccer match on Saturday at Glacier. Flathead won, 2-0.</p>
<p>Glacier junior Tanner Hart works to move the ball down field against Flathead senior Christopher Cronk (12) during Saturday’s crosstown match at Glacier. Glacier won 8-0.</p>
Brittany Earnest scored her second crosstown goal of the season, this time on a direct kick from 30 yards, and Sarah Cummins added another first-half goal as Flathead blanked Glacier 2-0 on Saturday in Western AA soccer action at Glacier.
Earnest's goal was at the 21-minute mark and Cummins found the net 13 minutes later.
"The first half, Flathead controlled the game," Glacier coach Paul Holmgren said.
"We were back on our heels, reacting to what they were doing."
Flathead had the edge in shots on goal, 13-9, while corner kicks favored the Wolfpack, 5-3.
"Second half, we made some adjustments," Holmgren said.
"It was a pretty even game, went back and forth. Both (teams) had equal shots on goal.
"The girls played hard, again, all the way through," he said.
"I can't fault the girls for heart. My hat's off to Flathead. They executed well today."
Glacier (0-8-1) is back in action Friday at Missoula Hellgate. The Wolfpack have three regular-season matches left.
"I thought Morgan Meier did a great job on defense for us," Holmgren said.
"Anna Deleray and Chantal Gustine worked very hard in the midfield and on top. Anna was all over trying to create something. Those two had strong games."
Flathead (4-3-1), with four regular-season matches left, plays at Missoula Big Sky on Thursday.
Flathead and Glacier tied 1-1 in the first crosstown matchup of the season back in September. Flathead leads the overall series 7-1-3.
Flathead 2 0 - 2
Glacier 0 0 - 0
FLATHEAD - Brittany Earnest, 21:00; Sarah Cummins, 34:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 13, Glacier 9
Corner kicks - Flathead 3, Glacier 5
Goalie saves - Flathead 8 (Payton Pietron), Glacier 11 (Shaniya Carey)
Fouls - Flathead 6, Glacier 8
Cards - None
Boys
Glacier 8, Flathead 0
Glacier celebrated its eighth straight victory over Flathead in the crosstown matchup by scoring eight goals.
Five different Wolfpack players scored, led by Bryce Haugan.
"First hat trick of his career," Glacier coach Ryan O'Rourke said.
"That's exciting for him to get three goals I'm sure."
Haugan scored at 9, 14 and 24 minutes.
"For the boys, I think that's the most (goals scored in the crosstown)," O'Rourke said.
"It was one of those days where everything seemed to go in the back of the net for us."
Glacier (3-3-3) outshot Flathead 17-10 on goal and led in corner kicks 11-5.
Also scoring goals were Elijah Dufour, Tanner Hart, Kade Deleray and Josiah Bumgarner.
Dufour had two goals, including the first of the match at 3 minutes, while Bumgarner also assisted on two scores.
"It was a great response," O'Rourke said.
"We struggled in our last few games. To see us break through with a few goals was encouraging from the coaching perspective."
Glacier, which now leads the crosstown series 8-2, plays at Missoula Hellgate on Friday. The Wolfpack has three matches remaining in regular season play.
Flathead (0-8-0) plays at Missoula Big Sky on Thursday. The Braves have four regular season matches left.
Flathead 0 0 - 0
Glacier 7 1 - 8
GLACIER - Elijah Dufour (Brandon Purdy), 3:00; Bryce Haugan (Kade Deleray), 9:00; Haugan (Josiah Bumgarner), 14:00; Tanner Hart, 21:00; Haugan (Joe Siderius), 24:00; Deleray (Matt Peters), 36:00; Dufour (Bumgarner), 39:00; Bumgarner (Todd Schlotfeldt), 77:00.
Shots on goal - Flathead 10, Glacier 17
Corner kicks - Flathead 5, Glacier 11
Goalie saves - Flathead 4 (Dino Cantu), Glacier 7 (Sean Peters)
Fouls - Flathead 8, Glacier 8
Cards - Flathead, 1 yellow