Dogs, Pirates in state A boys soccer final
Whitefish's 5-4 Class A semifinal win over Frenchtown Saturday was undoubtedly fun for the fans.
For the coaches, not so much.
"From a soccer coach's standpoint, it was a little bit of a roller coaster of emotional chaos," Bulldogs coach O'Brien Byrd said.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs are headed to the Class A State Championship after clipping the Broncs in an exciting back-and-forth contest in Frenchtown.
They'll host Polson Saturday at noon in what will be the third meeting between the two teams this year.
Both Whitefish and Frenchtown (5-6-1) lit up the scoreboard early and often. Sam Donaldson had three goals for the Bulldogs while Manuel Terrazas earned a hat trick for the Broncs.
Whitefish's Jon Dittman scored four minutes into the match. Terrazas locked it at 1-1 a minute later.
The tie was broken by Donaldson, who scored on a corner kick in the 21st minute. He found the back of the net again in the 31st to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-1.
Whitefish goalkeeper Thomas Clark came up with what would eventually become a game-saving save on a penalty kick in the 34th minute.
But then Terrazas countered with an unassisted score in the 44th minute.
"We had some moments of brilliance, scored some nice goals and then we had some moments of complete breakdowns," Byrd said. "All the highs and lows you could possibly ask for."
It was Donaldson again in the 71st minute. He scored off an assist by Elior Rossi.
The breathing room didn't last.
Rodrigo Gama took a pass from Terrazas and scored in the 74th minute.
But Sean Janni countered in the 78th minute to make it 5-3.
Terrazas got his third goal in the 80th minute.
"We knew about him going into the game that he would be a slippery player and we really struggled to contain him," Byrd said of Terrazas.
Despite a few defensive miscues, Byrd said he was happy with his team's offensive performance.
"We had a good day at the office in terms of offense," he said. "We scored five goals. In any other game we should be winning handily."
Whitefish (12-2-0) last won the Class A state championship in 2007 and made it to the game in 2009.
Frenchtown 1 3 - 4
Whitefish 3 2 - 5
WHITEFISH - Jon Dittman (Matty McCrone) 4:00; Sam Donaldson (Curran Edland), 20:00; Donaldson (Elior Rossi), 31:00; Donaldson (Rossi), 71:00; Sean Janni (Nathan Boone), 78:00.
FRENCHTOWN - Manuel Terrazas, 6:00; Terrazas, 44:00; Rodrigo Gama (Terrazas), 74:00; Terrazas 80:00.
Shots on goal - Whitefish 16, Frenchtown 6
Corner kicks - Whitefish 9, Frenchtown 4
Goalie saves - Whitefish 6 (Thomas Clark), Frenchtown 9 (Josh Bishop)
Fouls - Whitefish 12, Frenchtown 6
Cards - Frenchtown, 2 yellows
Polson 1, Hamilton 1
HAMILTON - Polson punched its ticket to the Class A state championship by scoring on three of four shootout chances after its semifinal match ended in a 1-1 tie in regulation.
Both teams scored early but were unable to spark offensive production late.
James Larson scored for the Pirates in the second minute, then Cody Tredik tied the game 10 minutes later.
Hamilton made its first shot then missed its next three. Polson missed its first shot then scored on the next three to end the shootout.
Hamilton outshot Polson 14-6 during regulation and had six more corner kicks.
The Pirates improved their overall record to 9-3-2 with the win.
Polson 1 0 - 1
Hamilton 1 0 - 1
POLSON - James Larson, 2:00
HAMILTON - Cody Tredik, 12:00
Shots on goal - Polson 6, Hamilton 14
Goalie saves - Polson 6, Hamilton 2
Corner kicks - Polson 3, Hamilton 9
Fouls - Polson 7, Hamilton 12
Cards - Hamilton, 1 yellow