Glacier girls finish 2-1 at AA state soccer
It wasn’t a state championship, but Saturday’s 1-0 win over Billings Skyview in the Class AA fifth-place game allowed the Glacier girls soccer team to end its season on a high note at Kidsports Complex.
Junior forward Kendall Halliburton netted the game’s only goal in the 56th minute and Glacier finished the state tournament with a 2-1 record, its only loss coming in the first round against eventual state champion Bozeman.
“It just shows how hard they worked and how bad they wanted it,” Glacier coach Brenden Byrd said.
“We didn’t win a state championship, we didn’t have a place in the top four, but we battled. We took one loss at state to Bozeman, who ended up winning it. That’s the only team that beat us.”
Skyview controlled most of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, but Glacier goalkeeper Shaniya Carey and the defense kept the game scoreless.
Carey punched a 35-yard free kick over the crossbar in the 15th minute, then made another save a minute later on a long-range shot.
A Glacier giveaway near midfield gave Skyview a scoring chance on the counter-attack in the 17th minute, but center back Dani Crandell won a challenge against Skyview’s Taven Morrison and cleared the ball out of bounds.
Glacier shook off its sluggish start and was on the attack the last 10 minutes of the half. Katie Thomas put Glacier’s first shot on frame in the 31st minute, and Anna Deleray added another a minute later, but Skyview goalkeeper Annie Warner made both saves.
Midfielder Lauren Waldenberg produced Glacier’s best chance a minute before halftime, but her 30-yard shot was knocked out of bounds by a diving Warner.
At halftime, Byrd said he and assistant coach Jelisa Guy told the girls to make sure they left the field without any regrets.
“I said if you lose you’ll be heartbroken,” Byrd said. “You guys will be heartbroken because you deserve to win the way you’ve worked.”
Glacier opened the second half with a pair of runs into the 18-yard box by Halliburton and Deleray, but Halliburton shot wide and Deleray was stopped by Warner.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 56th minute. Warner made a save on a Deleray shot from the edge of the 18-yard box, and Halliburton knocked in the rebound to put Glacier ahead 1-0.
Carey busted her lip in the 61st minute, but remained in net for the Wolfpack after a brief delay.
Instead of sitting on its one-goal lead, Glacier continued to attack. Warner made a diving save to stop Halliburton in the 75th minute. Five minutes later, Deleray tried her luck from the left flank but shot out of bounds into the side netting just before the final whistle.
“They put it all out there,” Byrd said. “We watched players go down hard. Shaniya Carey had a big split open lip, but refused to come off the field. They put everything out there. It was awesome.”
Billings Skyview 0 0 — 0
Glacier 0 1 — 1
Gla - Kendall Halliburton (assist Anna Deleray), 56:00
Shots - Skyview 7, Glacier 12. Saves - Skyview 6 (Annie Warner), Glacier 5 (Shaniya Carey). Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.
Girls championship Bozeman 1,
Billings Senior 0
Bozeman topped defending state champion Billings Senior to win the Class AA state title.
An own goal was the only difference between the two sides as Senior scored on itself in the 48th minute and Bozeman kept a clean sheet despite being outshot 9-1.
Billings Senior 0 0 — 0
Bozeman 0 1 — 1
Sen - Own goal, 48:00
Shots - Senior 9, Bozeman 1. Saves - Senior 1 (Sara Heard), Bozeman 8 (Devan Murfitt). Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.
Third Place
Helena High 0 0 — 0
Great Falls CMR 0 2 — 2
CMR - Anna Weber
CMR - Lindsy Pyette (assist Anna Weber)
Shots - Helena 2, CMR 5. Saves - Not available. Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.
Boys championship Bozeman 1,
Helena High 0
Bozeman’s John Wells scored in the second half to help the Hawks win their second state championship in school history.
Bozeman conceded one goal all tournament.
Helena High 0 0 — 0
Bozeman 0 1 — 1
Boz - John Wells
Shots - Helena 7, Bozeman 9. Saves - Not available. Yellow cards - Helena 1, Bozeman 2. Red cards - none.
Third Place
Billings Senior 0 2 — 2
Great Falls CMR 0 0 — 0
Sen - Mason Luse, penalty kick, 52:00
Sen - Luse, 73:00
Shots - Senior 8, CMR 7. Saves - Not available. Yellow cards - Senior 3, CMR 1. Red cards - none.