Bravettes shut out Big Sky in soccer

The Flathead girls soccer team extended its winning streak to four and moved into a tie for second place in Western AA with a 2-0 win over Missoula Big Sky Saturday at Kidsports Complex.

Big Sky (2-6-3) had more possession in the first half but couldn’t solve Flathead’s defense, which has posted four consecutive clean sheets, and Joey Thiel and Paige Birky scored in the second half give the Bravettes a win in their final home game of the regular season.

“At halftime we just had to really pull it together and talk as a team about how we needed it more,” Thiel said.

“This was for the seniors and for our league placement overall, so we knew that we had to pull it together and possess, which is the game we know how to play.”

Set pieces turned the tide in the second half. Big Sky had a chance to strike first when it won a free kick 20 yards from the goal in the 49th minute, but Kayla McCampbell skied the kick well over the crossbar. Flathead (6-3-1) got its chance a minute later and didn’t miss. Stephanie Wilson chipped a free kick from midfield over the defense and Thiel and Birky found themselves alone with Big Sky goalkeeper Carley Lane. Thiel got to the ball first and directed a right-footed shot inside the right post.

“I kind of anticipated they were going to make that run,” Wilson said.

“We’ve been working on that.”

Flathead midfielder Jacquelyn Merrill cleared a cross in the 55th minute to snuff out a Big Sky scoring chance and Flathead began to turn the battle for possession in its favor as the second half wore on.

Big Sky’s Hannah Kearns was red-carded for a rough tackle in the 61st minute, which opened the field up for Flathead’s offense. Meredith Wilson played a through ball to Monica White in the 66th minute but White’s shot was saved by Lane. Birky netted Flathead’s second goal in the 79th minute when Alexa May played a through ball to Anna Milheim on the right flank. Milheim threaded a pass to a wide-open Birky inside the 18-yard box and Birky had time to take two dribbles and fire a 10-yard strike past Lane.

While Flathead’s offense showed up in the second half, it’s defense was stout throughout. Big Sky’s first-half possession yielded few quality chances with Stephanie Wilson running down through balls from her sweeper position. Left back Ashley Lincoln stopped a Big Sky counter-attack in the second half and fellow defender Janae Moon’s pressure forced McCampbell to shoot high on another Big Sky chance.

“Really we’ve been working on our shape a lot and working well as a squad in the back,” Stephanie Wilson said.

Flathead has shut out its opponent six times this season.

“They’re playing with a lot of intensity in the back,” Flathead coach Cory Wilson said.

“Their shape is pretty good and we play a pretty deep sweeper. We’re really focusing on keeping it simple, which is to keep the ball in front of us, defend well on the ball, and the kids are taking that to heart, which is good considering how young they are with three sophomores and a junior playing in the back for us right now.”

Flathead was 2-3-1 before winning its last four games. It has clinched a home playoff game and has a chance to secure Western AA’s No. 2 seed when it takes on Helena Capital and Helena High Thursday and Friday.

“I’m just excited,” Thiel said.

“We were kind of considered the underdog in a lot of ways and I’m excited to prove people wrong.”

Big Sky 0 0 — 0

Flathead 0 2 — 2

FLATHEAD — Joey Thiel (assist Stephanie Wilson), 50:00; Paige Birky (Anna Milheim), 79:00

Shots on goal - Big Sky 9, Flathead 11. Goalie saves - Big Sky 7 (Carley Lane), Flathead 9 (Zoe Zander). Corner kicks - Big Sky 2, Flathead 2. Fouls - Big Sky 6, Flathead 9. Cards - Flathead 1 yellow, Big Sky 1 red (Hannah Kearns in 61st minute).

BOYS

Big Sky 2, Flathead 0

Big Sky dominated possession but couldn’t crack Flathead’s defense until the last five minutes when Tristan Powers scored twice to lift the Eagles to victory.

Big Sky (8-1-2) rattled two crossbars and Flathead center back Will Cronk cleared a ball off the goal line to keep the game scoreless but the Eagles’ relentless pressure eventually paid off in the 76th minute. Casey McCampbell played a long ball over Flathead’s defense and Powers won a race with Flathead goalkeeper Parker Brixey to net the game winner. Powers added an insurance goal two minutes later when Sam McKay chipped into the 18-yard box, Chris Lange flicked a header toward the far post and Powers lashed it into the net.

While Flathead (1-7-2) was disappointed to lose on a pair of late goals, the game showed how much the Braves have progressed since their previous meeting with the Eagles, which Big Sky won 8-0 on Sept. 26.

“Man it was great,” Flathead midfielder Andrew Wilson said.

“I thought we possessed the ball significantly better. It was just a much better outing from the entire team.”

Big Sky controlled possession most of the game, but Flathead’s attack was far from toothless. The Braves created two dangerous chances on the counter-attack in the first half but center forward Haakon Sande shot over the crossbar in the fourth minute and missed wide in the fifth minute.

“It was unfortunate,” Wilson said. “Just didn’t get the hits that we wanted, didn’t go our way, but it was great to see some offense generated against a really high-level team.”

Big Sky began the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak before it suffered a loss to Missoula Hellgate. Flathead ended a four-year losing streak with a 1-0 win over Glacier Oct. 5 and followed that up with a 2-2 draw against Missoula Sentinel.

“They were disappointed for getting down 2-0, but I told them that this is a new season,” Flathead coach Dan Ferguson said.

“This is a new team and it is exciting to see them be disappointed for losing a close game, because before it was just expected. Now they have the confidence to be able to go into a game against the second-best team in the conference and expect to come away with a result.”

Flathead concludes its regular season Thursday and Friday at Helena Capital and Helena High before hitting the road for a playoff game.

“Since the start of the season we told them that the whole season is a process,” Ferguson said.

“That we’re building toward one game, the play-in game to state, because we’re going to state and we have to make sure that we’re ready to meet that challenge when it’s presented to us.

“We met (Big Sky) three of four games ago, they just destroyed us 8-0. We were unorganized, didn’t understand our roles, didn’t commit to personal challenges that we should’ve. We’ve been working on that and it showed. I think they’re the highest-scoring offense in the state right now and we held them to having to wait until the 75th minute to get a goal on us. And we created chances of our own. Sometimes the best defense is just attacking, and we did a good job of that. I’m happy with the performance.”

Big Sky 0 2 — 2

Flathead 0 0 — 0

BIG SKY — Tristan Powers (Casey McCampbell), 76:00; Powers (Chris Lange), 78:00

Shots on goal - Big Sky 22, Flathead 5. Goalie saves - Big Sky 1 (Nathan Mahler), Flathead 4 (Chandler Escalante, Parker Brixey). Corner kicks - Big Sky 5, Flathead 2. Fouls - Big Sky 14, Flathead 10. Cards - Big Sky 1 yellow.