Crosstown soccer: Second time around for FHS, Glacier

Flathead and Glacier’s girls soccer teams will both look to improve their playoff seeds with a win in today’s crosstown match, which kicks off at noon at Kidsports Complex.

After a slow 0-4 start, Glacier (3-5) has won three of its last four games to climb to fifth place in the Western AA standings, while Flathead (4-3) is just above its rival in fourth place. As things stand, the two Kalispell schools would play each other in a playoff game to determine who makes the state tournament, but the winner of the crosstown match could position itself to catch third-place Helena Capital.

“Every crosstown game we’ve played has been a hard-fought match, and I don’t expect anything different in this one,” Flathead coach Scott Warnell said.

Flathead holds a 9-1-3 edge over Glacier in the series and won 2-1 when the teams met earlier this season, but Glacier has a different look this time around.

The Wolfpack scored just one goal through its first four games, but its offense broke through in a 4-0 win over Missoula Hellgate on Sept. 13. Glacier has added six goals in its three games since, and recently welcomed back all-state senior forward Anna Deleray, who scored against Missoula Big Sky Thursday in her first game since returning from an injury.

“We’ve come into our own,” first-year Glacier coach Brenden Byrd said. “Everyone’s understanding more how I coach and I’m understanding more how they play.

“I think the girls are really excited for this rematch.”

Warnell said Deleray’s return should make Glacier much tougher to defend.

“Her whole four years she’s been a scoring threat,” Warnell said. “We’re really going to have to watch her.”

Glacier junior Kendall Halliburton, who scored a hat trick against Big Sky on Thursday, is another scoring threat.

Flathead is also riding a hot streak, having scored eight goals in its last two games. After opening the season 2-0, the Bravettes tallied just one goal during a three-game losing streak, which they emphatically snapped with a 5-1 win over Hellgate on Sept. 18.

Flathead recently lost junior midfielder Anna Milheim to a knee injury, but Warnell said his team has done a good job adapting to change all season.

“They are a really resilient team,” he said. “They’re handling things very well and are continuing to work on the things they need to to get better as a team.”

Speedy forwards Jaclyn Rauthe and Paige Birky have combined for six goals in Flathead’s last two games, but Byrd said he’s also concerned about Flathead’s defense led by senior Malia Ozegovich.

“We’re going to have to bring our best game to break down their defense,” he said.

On the boys side, Glacier (5-2-1) will look to continue its dominance over last-place Flathead (0-6-1). Glacier leads the overall series 9-2 and its seniors have never lost to the Braves.

“It’s been a good tradition we’ve had beating Flathead every year,” Glacier coach Ryan O’Rourke said. “This group of seniors, they’ve done it four years in a row now, and I know they don’t want that to end.”

After a 3-0 start, the Wolfpack sputtered with losses to Helena and Hellgate, but O’Rourke believes his team is back on track after climbing into second place in the Western AA standings with wins over Missoula Sentinel and Big Sky.

“What I’m seeing from the guys is a lot more consistency,” he said. “We’ve had phases where we’ve played well, but those phases are getting longer.”

A strong group of senior offensive players in forward Matt Peters and midfielders Jake Lockwood and Tanner Maroney have made Glacier a dangerous team, but recently freshman forward Colton Becker has given the Wolfpack even more firepower up front.

“Glacier does a good job possessing the ball and they’ve got some serious scoring threats,” Flathead coach Chris Putzler said.

Flathead is still in search of its first win, but it played tough in its 3-2 loss to Glacier in this season’s first crosstown game, which was decided by a 69th-minute penalty kick goal by Peters.

“Considering how close our game was last time, they’re going to have a lot of hope they can beat us,” O’Rourke said. “They’re physical, they’re strong, they’re fast, so all of those things concern me. I know they’ll be gunning for us.”

The Braves have scored just three goals in seven games, and Putzler said his team’s lack of offense has put a lot of pressure on its defense.

“We’ve got to get our guys working for each other and working off the ball,” he said. “Making runs whether you get the ball or not. For the most part we’ve been making reactionary runs and we need to be making anticipatory runs in hopes of getting the ball.

“At this point we’re looking to go out and compete. We’re trying to put a W on the board, but we want to make sure we can compete and put an 80-minute game together.”

The boys game kicks off at 10 a.m. today at Kidsports Complex.