Stillwater downs Heritage, moves to state soccer final

BOZEMAN — Stillwater came out slow in its semifinal match against host team Heritage Christian at the Montana Christian Athletic Association state soccer tournament on Friday, but still mustered a pair of goals in a 3-1 win to advance to the final.

The Cougars’ first goal came seconds after Stillwater sweeped a Heritage Christian try off its own goal line, getting the ball out to its leading scorer — Joe King — for the first tally of the game.

Isaac Neumann added another four minutes later in the 30th minute on an assist from Darren Kauffman to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead at halftime.

“The first half I would say we were outplayed by Heritage Christian,” Stillwater coach Ryan O’Rourke said.

“Their team came out with a lot of intensity. They were moving the ball well through the midfield.”

Heritage halved the lead in the 46th minute, but a second goal from King put the game out of reach in the 55th minute. Jarrett Danz assisted.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and played a very strong second half,” O’Rourke said.

“Heritage helped bring out the best in us. That’s as much as you can ask from a competitor.”

The win advances Stillwater to the final at noon against Yellowstone County Home School from Billings. A title would be the 12th in a row for the Cougars.

“They’re excited and ready to go,” O’Rourke said.

Heritage    0    1    —    1

Stillwater    2    1    —    3

SCS — Joe King, 26:00

SCS — Isaac Neumann (Darren Kauffman), 30:00

HC — Vale May, 46:00

SCS — King (Jarrett Danz), 55:00

Shots on goal — HC 17, SCS 18. Saves — HC 11 (James Linabary), SCS 9 (Daniel Fetveit). Corner kicks — HC 5, SCS 4. Yellow card — Stillwater 1.