Boys Soccer: Wolfpack outlasts Spartans

With nearly all of a four-goal lead frittered away, Glacier goalkeeper Ryker McIntyre stared down a streaking Missoula Sentinel forward barreling in with the equalizer on his foot.

McIntyre leapt to punch Austin Leadbetter’s blast over the crossbar, preserving a wild 4-3 win for the Wolfpack over Sentinel on Tuesday night at Glacier High School.

“He’s the man,” Billiet said of his senior keeper. “We’re hoping he makes three or four phenomenal saves a game to keep us in and he did.”

McIntyre had a quiet first 40-plus minutes as his teammates exploded to a 4-0 lead when Colton Becker completed a hat trick with a masterful finish off a long through ball. But Sentinel roared back with goals in the 49th, 68th and 77th minutes before McIntyre’s game-saving stop.

Like teams across the state, the Wolfpack have had their early season adversely affected by the smoky conditions that have plagued the area. Billiet attributed at least some of his team’s late game struggles to a lack of fitness.

“There’s nothing like game fitness,” Billiet said. “We hadn’t played 11-a-side yet (before today), and there’s mental fatigue, too. We rode the emotional roller coaster and all of a sudden they had the uptick and started coming at us.”

“But we buckled down, found everything we possibly could and got the result,” Billiet continued. “I’m very proud of them.”

Becker, who scored 13 goals last season during an all-state campaign, picked up right where he left off Tuesday night. The senior got the home side on the board in the fourth minute and was credited with an assist on the Wolfpack’s second goal when Connor Griffin put home his rebound.

Parker Bedard assisted on each of Becker’s first two tallies, setting up Glacier’s third goal with a perfectly placed ball off a set piece that Becker headed home.

Tuesday’s match was a rematch of the third place game in last year’s state tournament, a game the Spartans won, 4-2.

“There’s no better test than Sentinel,” Billiet said. “To find them for our first game out of the gate was exciting and it was a little extra motivation for some of the returners.”

Both sides recorded 11 shots on goal, with Sentinel recording nine of their 11 shots in the second half. Ruston Hicks made seven saves in a losing effort.

Glacier has little time to rest, with the Wolfpack’s showdown against Flathead on deck at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Kidsports Complex.

“We’re a little banged up but (our players) will take care of themselves the next 24 hours,” Billiet said. “We’re excited because we’ve got a game under our belt and we were tested on all different levels. Hopefully we can show a little more composure and keep the momentum rolling in our direction throughout the game against Flathead.”

Sentinel 1 2 — 3

Glacier 3 1 — 4

GLA – Colton Becker (Parker Bedard), 4:00

GLA – Connor Griffin (Colton Becker), 17:00

GLA – Colton Becker (Parker Bedard), 22:00

GLA – Colton Becker (Tyler Combs), 43:00

SEN – Dylan Farnes, 49:00

SEN – Sentinel, 68:00

SEN – Austin Leadbetter, 77:00

Shots on goal – Sentinel 11, Glacier 11. Saves – Sentinel 7 (Rushton Hicks), Glacier 8 (Ryker McIntyre). Corner kicks – Sentinel 7, Glacier 3. Total fouls – Sentinel 8, Glacier 10. Cards – Luke Flammond (Glacier), 54:00.