Bravettes march on to state semis in AA soccer
HELENA - The Flathead defense posted its 10th shutout of the season Thursday as the Bravettes topped Bozeman 2-0 to move on to the Class AA girls soccer semifinals.
Bailie Poe scored after a pass from Joey Thiel in the second minute and later provided an assist for Flathead's second goal.
Defender Tess Brenneman headed in a score in the 11th minute after a corner kick by Poe
"(Brenneman) does a great job in the air and that's why we put her up there," Flathead coach Scott Warnell said. "She did a great job."
The Bravettes (8-1-5) will face Billings Senior (10-0-3) at 1:30 p.m. today with a trip to the Class AA state championship on the line.
"I'm really just letting them enjoy the win right now," Warnell said Thursday afternoon.
Flathead, who entered the tournament as the No. 2 team from the Western division, advanced by doing what it's done all season - play great defense.
Bozeman managed nine shots on goal, but were unable to capitalize on any of them. Flathead goalkeeper Payton Pietron made nine saves.
Warnell said his team focused on putting pressure on Bozeman's scorers and eliminating shots from the outside.
"They didn't really have any threatening shots on us," Warnell said. "They did put a lot of pressure on us, but our defenders just didn't give them a good look on goal.
"Everybody played great, from front to back."
The Bravettes have given up just four goals in 14 games this season.
They'll look to stay stingy against Billings Senior today.
The Broncs, who are the No. 1 seed from the Eastern division, beat Helena 1-0 in overtime Thursday to advance.
They were the highest scoring team in Class AA with 39 goals during the regular season.
The Bravettes gave up the fewest amount of goals in Class AA.
"They are a strong, physical team," Warnell said.
"They possess the ball really well and also have a good strong defense."
Flathead 2 0 - 2
Bozeman 0 0 - 0
FLATHEAD - Bailie Poe (Joey Thiel) 2:00; Tess Brenneman (Poe), 11:00
Shots on goal - Flathead 6, Bozeman 9
Corner kicks - Flathead 1, Bozeman 2
Goalie saves - Flathead 9 (Payton Pietron), Bozeman 2 (Candice Berdahl)
Fouls - Flathead 9, Bozeman 11
Cards - Bozeman, 1 yellow
Billings Skyview 2, Capital High 0 (OT)
Skyview 0 0 2 - 2
Capital 0 0 0 - 0
Overtime - Sky, Taven Morris (Ashlee Frank), 89:00; Sky, Bethany Irion, 95:00. Keepers - Sky, Katie Hoff; CHS, Kyra Dorvall.
Billings Senior 1, Helena High 0 (OT)
Senior 0 0 1 - 1
Helena 0 0 0 - 0
Overtime - BS, Mandi Achten (Alex Harvey), 99:00. Keepers - BS, Sara Heard; HHS, Taelar Therriault. Yellow cards - HHS 2.
Missoula Sentinel 2, CM Russell 2
(Sentinel won 4-3 on penalty kicks)
Sentinel 1 1 0 - 2
CMR 1 1 0 - 2
First half - CMR, McKenzie Weber; MS, Elle Nelson; Second half - CMR, Lexi Pyette; MS, Kennedy Fulbright. Keepers - MS, Jessica Henning; CMR, Gwen Malisani.
Shootout
Sentinel 4, CM Russell 3
Penalty kicks - MS 4 (Fulbright, Emilie Thane, Kelly Umbaugh, Trae Rocheleau); CMR 3 (Pyette, Alyssa Malisani, Lise Spencer)