Whitefish boys pummel Livingston in soccer

WHITEFISH — The Whitefish boys left no doubt that they’re still the team to beat in Class A soccer with a 5-1 rout of Livingston in a much-anticipated nonconference matchup at Smith Fields Saturday morning.

Livingston (4-2) had only trailed one minute all season entering the game, but the two-time defending champion Bulldogs jumped ahead in the eighth minute and never looked back. Forward Jared Johnson netted his second hat trick in as many days, midfielder Nathan Boone scored a goal and added two assists and Whitefish (4-0) extended its winning streak dating back to 2011 to 31 games.

“They are a great team,” Whitefish coach O’Brien Boone said of Livingston. “But we came out and played the best game we’ve played all season. We were all focused from starters to reserves, so we really took it to them.”

Johnson switched sides with Scott Marsh, Whitefish’s other attacking winger, around the 5-minute mark to create a mismatch on the right side and used his speed to wreak havoc in the offensive third.

“(Johnson’s) the fastest guy out there and their right back was very fast as well, maybe as fast as Jared,” Byrd said. “We just look for those mismatches. That’s one thing that’s the coach’s end, but the player himself, Jared, has to put those away and he sure did. He’s shown a lot of maturity in the last couple of days that we haven’t seen in his career yet.”

Johnson’s first goal came in the eighth minute when he ran onto a through ball from Boone, beat Livingston’s charging goalkeeper and scored with a calm finish. Center forward Shanoah Montano’s quick touch on a through ball from Tommy Murphy set up Johnson’s second goal. He finished the hat trick in the 61st minute with another calm finish on a feed from Montano.

Johnson, a junior, didn’t see much varsity action a year ago, but his newfound scoring touch has made him an integral part of Whitefish’s attack.

“I didn’t really used to be able to do that,” Johnson said. “That’s a skill I’ve just developed this week and a half. I’ve been working on finishing and how to make the runs in, and I’m really glad that I started to figure it out and I hope to keep getting them.”

Livingston settled in after Johnson’s initial goal and had a chance to equalize in the 16th minute, but Cameron Kayser fired well over the crossbar from 15 yards out. The Rangers had another chance on a 20-yard free kick, but goalkeeper Sam Benkelman was well-positioned to make the save.

Whitefish re-asserted itself as the half wound down. Johnson scored his second goal in the 38th minute and helped set up a goal for Boone shortly before halftime when he intercepted a free kick near midfield and played the ball up to Montano. Montano dribbled around two Livingston defenders and played a short pass to Boone, who scored from 12 yards out.

“With this squad, nothing surprises me because they are so adaptable,” Byrd said. “They can adapt to different situations. We’ve played against a 3-4-3 maybe once in the last 11 years, so we certainly don’t practice to play against that. Those players made those adjustments on the fly out there. We had some tweaks to make at halftime, but they made a lot of those adjustments on their own.”

The Rangers scored their lone goal in second half when Daniel Newhouse chipped a free kick into the 18-yard box and Hayden Cody-Jensen blasted a shot past Benkelman. Livingston briefly controlled the midfield after its goal, but a quick one-touch passing combination from Taven Edland to Boone to Montano sprang Johnson up right flank for his third goal.

“That’s the game isn’t it,” Byrd said. “The rhythm, the ebbs and flows. We started out the game really well and I thought they were flat-footed, and then for some reason, I don’t know what the breakdown was, but they had the rhythm of play for that minute or two. And then we snapped out of it and countered.”

Whitefish’s final goal came in the 76th minute when Boone had a chance to add to his goal tally, but instead played a short cross to Ben Hirsch, who tapped in a volley for his first varsity goal.

“One of our mentalities is be the man, but also with that, find the best shot,” Boone said. “Everyone on our team can score, so that’s an amazing advantage that we have.”

Byrd credited center backs Jon Dittman and Cole Maxwell with keeping the defense organized against Livingston’s three-forward front.

“They usually only deal with two,” Byrd said. “They just got it done back there. Gave up a goal on a set piece, but in the run of play it was a shutout as far as my eyes see it. Those two guys deserve a lot of credit.”

Whitefish returns to the pitch Thursday at Columbia Falls.

Livingston 0 1 — 1

Whitefish 3 2 — 5

W - Jared Johnson (assist Nathan Boone), 8:00

W - Johnson (Shanoah Montano), 38:00

W - Boone (Montano), 40:00

L - Hayden Cody-Jensen (Daniel Newhouse), 56:00

W - Johnson (Montano), 61:00

W - Ben Hirsch (Boone), 76:00

Shots on goal - Livingston 10, Whitefish 27. Saves - Livingston 20 (Cyler Cain), Whitefish 11 (Sam Benkelman). Corner kicks - Livingston 4, Whitefish 5. Fouls - Livingston 6, Whitefish 14. Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.

Girls

Whitefish 2,

Livingston 1

WHITEFISH — Jess Baldonado scored against the run of play in the 71st minute to lift Whitefish past Livingston.

The Rangers dominated possession in the second half, but its attack was more probing than penetrating and didn’t yield many dangerous scoring chances.

When Whitefish (3-1) finally got a chance to counter, Hayley Burger played a through ball to Baldonado, who outran the Livington defense, dribbled around the charging goalkeeper and bent a right-footed strike into the net from a nearly impossible angle.

“Basically it was pure luck,” Baldonado said. “I saw that I beat the goalie, so it was basically a cross into one of my teammates, but it ended up spinning in.”

Baldonado’s game-winner came after long stretches of possession by Livingston (1-3-2). The Rangers’ best chance came in the 65th minute, but the Livingston forward shot well over the crossbar from inside of 12 yards.

“We’re still kind of figuring out this new formation, and I think we just had to settle down a little bit, keep our heads up, pass to feet,” Whitefish midfielder Caroline Carbo said. “We just had to stay composed. It was a pretty frantic second half, but obviously we pulled it out with hard work and composure.”

Livingston led 1-0 after a 14th minute goal from Ariona Brown and nearly scored another two minutes later when Chelsea Woods’ shot went just wide of the far post. Whitefish’s Haley Nicholson provided the equalizer shortly before halftime with a 30-yard bullet into the upper-left corner of the net in the 38th minute.

“It was a great team effort,” Whitefish coach Wendy Farrens said. “Our defensive line and (goalkeeper) Piper (Greenwood) backing us up saved us quite a few times, but we were able to pull through and get a goal.”

Livingston 1 0 — 1

Whitefish 1 1 — 2

L - Ariona Brown, 14:00

W - Haley Nicholson (assist Julia Houston), 38:00

W - Jess Baldonado (Hayley Burger), 71:00

Shots - Livingston 9, Whitefish N/A. Saves - N/A. Corner kicks - Livingston 2, Whitefish 1. Fouls - N/A. Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.