Crosstown soccer: Flathead, Glacier split, again

The Flathead Bravettes survived a late push to earn a 2-1 win against Glacier in Saturday’s crosstown soccer match at Kidsports Complex.

The intensity of the rivalry was on display in the final 10 minutes as Glacier (3-6) created chance after chance and Flathead (5-3), clinging to a one-goal lead, scrambled to keep the ball out of its net.

“They just kept pressuring us,” Flathead coach Scott Warnell said. “I’ve got to give Glacier credit for that, and give our defense credit for not giving them a lot of good looks, even though they were putting a lot of pressure on us. I was very stressed that last 10 minutes of the game, but the girls battled through and we were able to come out with the victory.”

Glacier’s offensive pressure led to three corner kicks and one free kick from the edge of the goal box in the waning minutes, but every chance was turned aside by goalkeeper Payton Pietron and the Flathead defense.

Glacier striker Anna Deleray attempted to level the score in the 70th minute, but Flathead sweeper Malia Ozegovich quickly closed her down and blocked the shot. Glacier’s Zoe Breeding put a header on frame in the 75th minute, but Pietron made the save. Less than a minute later, Pietron parried a free kick from Katie Thomas.

Glacier’s last chance came with two minutes remaining, but Breeding’s shot was deflected wide.

“With all the hype of the crowd and the team, we just had to make sure that we stayed focused and didn’t get disorganized,” Ozegovich said.

“We couldn’t break down,” Flathead’s Jaclyn Rauthe added.

“We had to always be first to the ball.”

Flathead opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Stephanie Wilson chipped a pass over the defense and Rauthe swooped in from the right wing to bury a shot inside the far post. Rauthe and Wilson combined several more times on the right flank, but Glacier’s defense contained Rauthe after the opening goal.

“It’s nice to see opportunities coming from building on the outside and getting some crosses in there,” Warnell said.

Ozegovich gave the Bravettes a 2-0 lead in 44th minute with a penalty kick goal after a Glacier hand ball, but the Wolfpack continued to battle. Laura Waldenberg and Sara Burch each put shots on frame following Ozegovich’s goal, but Pietron made both saves.

In the 67th minute, Glacier’s Maddi Paulson forced a turnover in her offensive third and played a short pass to Deleray. Deleray rattled the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the goal box and Kendall Halliburton lashed in the rebound to put Glacier on the board.

In search of a late equalizer, the Glacier offense played at a fast pace the rest of the game, but couldn’t crack Flathead’s defense for a second time.

“Glacier came out aggressive,” Ozegovich said. “Knowing they were a very aggressive team, we came out as hard as we possibly could. I think that was a big help for us, coming out knowing they were going to be pushing us around and we were willing to push back.”

Both teams return to action Thursday.

Flathead hosts Missoula Big Sky and Glacier hosts Missoula Hellgate.

Glacier 0 1 — 1

Flathead 1 1 — 2

GLACIER — Kendall Halliburton, Anna Deleray, 67:00

FLATHEAD — Jaclyn Rauthe (Stephanie Wilson), 22:00; Malia Ozegovich, penalty kick, 44:00

Shots on goal — Glacier 10, Flathead 15. Goalie saves — Glacier 5 (Shaniya Carey), Flathead 6 (Payton Pietron). Corner kicks —Glacier 5, Flathead 1. Fouls — Glacier 9, Flathead 3. Cards — Glacier, 1 yellow

Boys

Glacier 4, Flathead 2

A 52nd-minute goal by Glacier’s Drew Silvers sparked the previously sluggish Wolfpack in a win over Flathead.

Coming off a 3-2 victory over Big Sky two days earlier, Glacier (6-2-1) struggled to find its rhythm until Silvers, a senior defender, charged into the 6-yard box and headed in a corner kick by Jake Lockwood for his first varsity goal.

“I think that elevated everybody’s play,” Glacier coach Ryan O’Rourke said.

Glacier senior Tanner Maroney beat Flathead goalkeeper Clark Seaman from 17 yards out four minutes later to give the Wolfpack a 3-1 advantage, and Brandon Purdy added a fourth goal in the 65th minute.

“We all got involved,” Maroney said.

“We got excited because, for the seniors, we realized this was our last crosstown game, so we really picked it up. We just played our game in that second half and it turned out good.”

Glacier’s seniors have never lost to Flathead (0-7-1), which hasn’t defeated the Wolfpack since 2007.

“Crosstown is always a challenge because there’s a lot of emotions,” Glacier coach Ryan O’Rourke said.

“These seniors, it’s their last crosstown game, and they certainly did not want to lose because they’ve had the tradition of winning.”

Flathead was the more aggressive team prior to Silvers’ goal and created more scoring chances than the Wolfpack in the first 50 minutes.

The Braves opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Lander Crissman scored off a corner kick.

Seven minutes later, Glacier’s Ian Wheeler drew a foul in the goal box and Matt Peters struck the penalty kick into the lower-left corner to level the score.

“We had some momentum, and I think that PK deflated us a little bit,” Flathead coach Chris Putzler said.

Flathead opened the second half with a pair of great chances, but neither got past Glacier goalkeeper Ryker McIntyre, who made a diving save on the 46th minute, then stopped a volley by Crissman in the 50th minute.

Silvers headed in Lockwood’s corner two minutes later and Glacier seized the momentum the rest of the way.

“It just felt like we didn’t have that spark or didn’t have that energy, and our legs were kind of dragging,” O’Rourke said of his team’s slow start.

“Flathead’s a very physical, fast team. They have a lot of good athletes and so there was no room for that. We couldn’t connect our passes and we were letting them run through us.”

Maroney said Glacier found its legs after halftime.

“We came out in the second half, we started linking passes together and our midfield started to get it going,” he said.

With the win, Glacier remained in second place in the Western AA standings.

Glacier 1 3 — 4

Flathead 1 1 — 2

GLACIER — Matt Peters, penalty kick, 28:00; Drew Silvers (Jake Lockwood), 52:00; Tanner Maroney (Peters), 56:00; Brandon Purdy (Peters), 65:00

FLATHEAD — Lander Crissman, 21:00; Monte White (Caleb Buxton), 79:00

Shots on goal — Glacier 11, Flathead 17. Goalie saves — Glacier 6 (Ryker McIntyre), Flathead 10 (Clark Seaman). Corner kicks — Glacier 4, Flathead 5. Fouls — Glacier 3, Flathead 7. Cards — Flathead, 1 yellow.