Bigfork allows 5 goals in losses to Belgrade
BIGFORK — Chris Brayton scored four times to lift Belgrade to a 5-2 win over Bigfork in a nonconference Class A soccer game at Carlyle Johnson Field Thursday.
Bigfork (1-1-2) made a spirited comeback after giving up three goals in the first 15 minutes, but didn’t have enough firepower to overcome the disastrous start.
The Vikings switched from a three-back to a four-back formation to compensate for the absence of regular center back Steven Lyon and the result was a lack of communication that allowed Brayton to run through the 18-yard-box unmarked on several occasions.
Brayton’s first goal came in the third minute when he ran onto a through ball from Grant Jordan and fired into the lower-left corner of the net. He scored again six minutes later on a cross from Garrett Turner and added his third goal in the 14th minute when he beat the Bigfork defense to a through ball.
“I think there was just not a lot of communication in the back,” Bigfork coach Bill Buxton said. “Our center back was out the first half, so we put two people back in the center who aren’t used to being there.”
Despite conceding most of the possession, the Vikings got on the board in the 19th minute when Isaac Passwater controlled a corner kick from Jorge Zavala, squared to Kyle Thomson at the edge of the 18-yard box and Thomson tucked a shot inside the far post.
Belgrade (3-2) quickly re-established control when Brayton lashed in a cross from Tyler Davis in the 22nd minute, and Brayton nearly had another goal a minute later when his 30-yard attempt was tipped over the crossbar by Bigfork goalkeeper Dillon Hilling.
An own goal by Bigfork gave Belgrade a 5-1 lead in the 29th minute, but Thomson gave the home crowd a reason to cheer seconds before halftime when his 20-yard chip hit the bottom half of the crossbar and dropped into the net.
Lyon entered the lineup in the second half and the Vikings returned to their familiar 3-5-2 formation. With more numbers in the midfield, Bigfork pushed forward and its strikers didn’t have to track as far back to receive long balls. The result was multiple dangerous chances for forwards Jorge and Tyler Zavala, but neither found the back of the net.
Jorge ran onto a through ball in the 59th minute and took a touch around the Belgrade goalkeeper, but he ran out of room and the ball went out of bounds for a goal kick. Thomson played a long ball to Tyler in the 71st minute and the junior forward angled a 30-yard attempt around Belgrade’s charging keeper, but the shot rolled wide of the left post.
“That’s kind of our style of play,” Thomson said. “We like to send the ball over. The long ball seems to work pretty good for us. It opens up the field, spreads them out. I wouldn’t say it’s a designed play, but it works for us.”
While Bigfork wasn’t able to score in the second half, Buxton said he was pleased with his team’s resilience.
“Our team, to their credit, they never quit,” he said.
“They played 100 percent. They were down by quite a bit and they still played really hard the entire game, and with the changes that we made at halftime, we had control of the ball a lot more in the second half. We had the ball at our feet more and had a more penetrating and effective attack.”
Bigfork hosts Livingston today in nonconference game.
Belgrade 5 0 — 5
Bigfork 2 0 — 2
Bel - Chris Brayton (assist Grant Jordan), 3:00
Bel - C. Brayton (Garrett Turner), 9:00
Bel - C. Brayton (Ansel Brayton), 14:00
Big - Kyle Thomson (Isaac Passwater), 19:00
Bel - C. Brayton (Tyler Davis), 22:00
Bel - Bigfork own goal, 29:00
Big - Thomson (Tyler Zavala), 40:00
Shots - Belgrade 15, Bigfork 19. Saves - Belgrade 4 (Clay Bost, Colin Scott), Bigfork 9 (Dillon Hilling). Corner kicks - Belgrade 5, Bigfork 3. Fouls - Belgrade 2, Bigfork 7. Yellow cards - Belgrade 1. Red cards - none.
Girls
Belgrade 5, Bigfork 1
BIGFORK — Serena Klopp’s 20-yard strike gave Belgrade a 3-1 lead in the 37th minute and Hailey Wisner and Octavia Durnam added goals in the second half to give the Panthers a comfortable margin of victory.
Belgrade (3-2) had a huge advantage in possession throughout the nonconference contest, but Bigfork (1-3) made things interesting early.
A two-touch passing combination between midfielders Hailey Henesh and Durnam led to Belgrade’s opening goal, an 18-yard shot from Wisner in the sixth minute, but Bigfork answered less than a minute later when Megan Pancoast received a pass from Mattison McAnnally at the edge of the 18-yard box and fired a right-footed strike into the lower-left corner of the net.
Belgrade re-gained the lead in the 15th minute when Durnam put a 20-yard shot through the arms of Bigfork goalkeeper Celeste Rehbein, but the Valkyries nearly came up with another equalizer 20 minutes later. Ashley Hauss sent a lob to the far post and goalkeeper Autumn Rollins needed to make a leaping save to keep the ball out of her net.
Klopp’s strike three minutes before halftime permanently shifted the momentum in Belgrade’s favor as the Panthers pressured Bigfork’s back line throughout the second half and added goals in the 57th and 58th minutes.
A takeaway by Alauna Weilacher in Bigfork’s offensive third set up a 61st-minute chance for Pancoast, but her shot rattled off the crossbar. Belgrade nearly made it 6-1 moments later but Rehbein made a kick save on a shot that came from inside the 6-yard box.
“The team played really well,” Bigfork coach Mike Marchetti said. “We were outplayed, obviously, and (Belgrade) took advantage of their scoring opportunities. We were a little bit off. It’s kind of like our timing was off today, so when we were up in a scoring position we weren’t all together. I think that was probably the biggest difference, but we played well. Every game we’ve been playing better.”
Belgrade 3 2 — 5
Bigfork 1 0 — 1
Bel - Hailey Wisner (assist Octavia Durnam), 6:00
Big - Megan Pancoast (Mattison McAnnally), 7:00
Bel - Durnam, 15:00
Bel - Serena Klopp, 37:00
Bel - Wisner, 57:00
Bel - Durnam (Wisner), 58:00
Shots - Belgrade 23, Bigfork 8. Saves - Belgrade 4 (Autumn Rollins), Bigfork 15 (Celeste Rehbein). Corner kicks - Belgrade 4, Bigfork 0. Fouls - Belgrade 8, Bigfork 1. Yellow cards - Bigfork 1. Red cards - none.