Soccer roundup: Flathead boys tie Sentinel, Columbia Falls girls and boys both win

Kaleb Frame’s late penalty kick goal earned Flathead a 2-2 draw in a physical Western AA conference battle with Missoula Sentinel Tuesday night at Kidsports Complex.

Frame’s penalty caromed off keeper Rushton Hicks and into the net in the 72nd minute to deter a come-from-behind Sentinel effort and square the match.

The match was Flathead’s first since an emotional 1-0 win over Glacier on Saturday.

“Today was about the least amount of energy we’ve ever come out with in a game this year,“ Flathead coach Nate Evans said. “We were still thinking about how good it felt to beat Glacier and as soon as a team thinks they’ve arrived, they get complacent and you allow somebody to come up and beat you.”

Flathead (3-4-2) got on the board early when Carter Warnell’s direct kick from the far corner deflected into the goal off a Spartans defender. The Braves led 1-0 at the half before Sentinel scored in the 51st and 66th minutes to take the lead.

“I thought our kids showed a lot of heart and a lot of guts by climbing back in and getting a tie,” Evans said. “It’s a good learning experience for these kids to know that every game we are a beatable team if we don’t show up.”

Emotions ran high on both sides during the match, which featured 34 fouls, four yellow cards and a number of vocal disputes with the head referee.

The Braves return to the pitch Thursday at 5 p.m. at Missoula Big Sky.

Sentinel 0 2 — 2

Flathead 1 1 — 2

FLT — Sentinel own goal, 8:00

SEN — Thomas Stevens (Austin Leadbetter), 51:00

SEN — Ben Larson (unassisted), 66:00

FLT — Kaleb Frame (penalty kick), 72:00

Shots on goal — Sentinel 9, Flathead 7. Saves — Sentinel 4 (Rushton Hicks), Flathead 7 (Micah Bucy). Corner kicks — Sentinel 3, Flathead 6. Fouls — Sentinel 20, Flathead 14. Cards — Yellow cards: Sentinel 2, Flathead 2.

Columbia Falls 3, Bigfork 2

BIGFORK — Junior midfield Logan Stephens scored his second goal with seconds remaining to vanquish Bigfork in a Northern A contest on the game’s final play.

Stephens netted a strike inside the far post, catching a corner kick from Auguste Emond in stride to score the game-winner at the last possible moment.

“Bigfork gave us all we could handle in the first half,” Wildcats coach O’Brien Byrd said.

“In the second half, our guys brought it to another level. They were all team effort goals.”

Bigfork took a commanding lead in the first half, scoring a pair of goals in three minutes from Christian Bencomo and Shane Rieke to pull ahead 2-0.

Whitefish chipped back in the second half, Daniel Skinner scoring the first before Stephens was able to draw the game even on an assist from Jakob Grein in the 75th minute.

“The guys just believed. The believed they could come back. We tied it up and they still wanted more, they still believed they could win. It was a complete team effort.”

Col. Falls 0 3 — 3

Bigfork 2 0 — 2

B—Christian Bencomo (Alec Buenz), 19’

B—Shane Rieke (Kalvin Eaton), 22’

CF—Daniel Skinner, 43’

CF—Logan Stephens (Jakob Grein), 75’

CF—Stephens (Auguste Emond), 80’

Shots on Goal—CF 22, B 14. Keeper saves—CF 12 (Brandon Karburg), B 20 (Ben Russell). Corner kicks—CF 2, B 3. Fouls—CF 10, B 16. Cards—none.

Libby 1, Polson 1

POLSON — Polson couldn’t hold on to an early lead, drawing its Northern A match with Libby.

The Pirates pulled ahead in the 38th minute when Mike Mercer scored a goal on an assist from Alex Encizo.

Libby tied the game late on a goal from Giovanni Cano. Cody Wood assisted the tying score.

Libby 0 1 — 1

Polson 1 0 — 1

P—Mike Mercer (Alex Encizo), 38’

L—Giovanni Cano (Cody Wood), 56’

Shots on Goal—L 10, P 6. Keeper saves—n/a. Corner kicks—L 3, P 7. Fouls—L 7, P 4. Cards—n/a.

GIRLS

Missoula Sentinel 6, Flathead 0

Syd Steele and Brittany Delridge each scored twice as Missoula Sentinel blew past Flathead in a Western AA conference match.

“We came out and played technically very well with lots of opportunities, and we controlled much of the possession in the first half,” Flathead coach Cory Wilson said.

“But Sentinel’s a really good team and they make you pay for your mistakes.”

The Spartans scored three times in each half and gained sole possession of first place in the conference with the win.

Sentinel 3 3 — 6

Flathead 0 0 — 0

SEN — Claire Danicich (unassisted), 10:00

SEN — Emma Caldwell (Syd Steele), 15:00

SEN — Brittany Delridge (unassisted), 34:00

SEN — Delridge (Steele), 57:00

SEN — Steele (Delridge), 60:00

SEN — Steele (unassisted), 67:00

Shots on goal — Sentinel 10, Flathead 5. Saves — Sentinel 5 (Bekah Joy), Flathead 4 (Lilly Sherman). Corner kicks — Sentinel 8, Flathead 10. Fouls — Sentinel 6, Flathead 6. Cards — none.

Columbia Falls 8, Bigfork 0

BIGFORK — Columbia Falls took advantage early, laying on a barrage of goals to top Bigfork in a Northern A conference match.

The Wildkats scored six goals in the first half, and sophomore forward Hannah Gedlaman netted a hat trick in the win. Ellie Johnson and Katie Price each had a pair of goals and two assists and Miranda Campbell scored the other on an assist from sophomore Hannah Callender.

Col. Falls 6 2 — 8

Bigfork 0 0 — 0

CF—Hannah Gedlaman (Tavia Bechtel), 9’

CF—Ellie Johnson (Katie Price), 10’

CF—Price (Johnson), 13’

CF—Gedlaman (Johnson), 17’

CF—Johnson (Bechtel), 20’

CF—Miranda Livingston (Hannah Callender), 30’

CF—Bechtel (Price), 60’

CF—Gedlaman, 66’

Shots on goal—CF 19, B 11. Keeper saves—CF 8 (Allyson Gimbel), B 7 (Ally Pancoast). Corner kicks—CF 5, B 2. Fouls—CF 7, B 2. Cards—none.

Polson 6, Libby 1

POLSON — After falling behind early on, Polson scored six unanswered goals to run away with a Northern A win against Libby.

Anna Carlson scored on a direct kick in the 11th minute to give the Loggers a lead, but Polson took over the contest shortly after.

Tiara Duford netted a hat trick and an assist, Marina Mayorga two goals and Ashlee Howell had four assists to lead the Pirates to victory. Janessa Taylor also scored for Polson on an assist from Brenna Clarke.

Polson outshot Libby 43-5 and forced Libby keeper Shannon Reny into 17 saves.

Libby 1 0 — 1

Polson 0 6 — 6

L – Anna Carlson direct kick, 11:00

P – Tiara Duford (Ashlee Howell), 43:00

P – Marina Mayorga (Duford), 54:00

P – Janessa Taylor (Brenna Clarke), 56:00

P – Duford (Howell), 74:00

P – Duford (Howell), 76:00

P – Mayorga (Howell), 78:00

Shots on goal – Libby 5, Polson 43. Saves – Libby 20 (Shannon Reny 17, Allie Coldwell 3), Polson 4 (Ashley Benson). Corner kicks – Libby 1, Polson 4. Total fouls – Libby 2, Polson 3 Cards – None.