Soccer roundup: Braves blow by Big Sky
<p>Flathead's Jace Darrow jumps over the tackle attempt of Big Sky's Rylan Compton during the first half on Tuesday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Flathead's Shaye Thompson takes a shot between Big Sky defenders Kayla Farago (6) and Casey Nelson (4) during the first half on Tuesday. Thompson's shot bounced off the goalpost. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
The Flathead boys got off to a strong start, earning its first win behind a couple of strong performances on Tuesday afternoon, beating Missoula Big Sky 3-0 in a Western AA conference soccer game.
Braves senior Kaleb Frame opened the scoring on a direct free kick from 26 meters out, slotting a goal past the Sentinel keeper.
“He placed it really well,” Braves coach Nate Evans said.
Senior midfielder Jace Darrow would double the advantage before halftime, heading in a goal on a cross from Carter Warnell.
Freshmen Colter Goss and Joey Russell connected for a third goal in the second half, Russell scoring to give the Braves an insurance goal.
“It was great to get those kids a first win of the season,” Evans said. “We’re looking to build on that momentum. They played extremely well. Everyone is falling into a role in our new system.”
The Braves have a chance to pick up another win on Thursday, heading on the road for a conference game at Missoula Sentinel.
Big Sky 0 0 — 0
Flathead 2 1 — 3
F- Kaleb Frame (free kick)
F- Jace Darrow (Carter Warnell)
F- Joey Russell (Colter Goss)
Stats not available
Columbia Falls 3,
Bigfork 1
COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls answered an early Bigfork tally with three unanswered goals to win a Northern A conference matchup.
Shane Rieke scored in the 25th minute on an assist from Hugo Schyberg to put Bigfork out in front, but it was all Wildcats after that.
Logan Stephens slotted home a pass from Auguste Emond just 11 minutes later to tie the contest. After half, Daniel Skinner scored on a penalty kick and Paxton Fisher added an insurance goal with three minutes to play to earn Columbia Falls its first conference victory of the season.
“I was impressed with Bigfork’s resilience,” Wildcats coach O’Brien Byrd said. “We threw a lot at them.
“We didn’t come out very focused. That slowly built as the game progressed. The last 10 minutes we were playing some of the best soccer of the season.”
Bigfork 1 0 — 1
Columbia Falls 1 2 — 3
B- Shane Rieke (Hugo Schyberg), 25’
CF- Logan Stephens (Auguste Emond), 36’
CF- Daniel Skinner, PK, 68’
CF- Paxton Fisher, 77’
Shots on Goal – CF 20, B 9. Keeper saves – CF (Brandon Karberg) 8. B (Ben Russell) 17. Corner kicks – CF 7, B 0. Fouls – CF 12, B 10. Cards - None.
Girls
Missoula Big Sky 4,
Flathead 0
Big Sky scored three times in the second half to run away with a Western AA conference victory at Flathead.
Emma Scheuch gave the Eagles an early advantage, scoring in the 31st minute to put Big Sky up at halftime.
Big Sky’s Cassidy Pierce assisted on a pair of second-half goals, one each to Mackenzie Morrison and Hannah Kearns, before scoring her own to help the Eagles pull away.
Big Sky 1 3 – 4
Flathead 0 0 – 0
BS – Emma Scheuch (Ellen Bonner), 31:00
BS – Mackenzie Morrison (Cassidy Pierce), 48:00
BS – Hannah Kearns (Pierce), 53:00
BS – Pierce (Nicki Nimlos), 71:00
Shots on goal – Big Sky 8, Flathead 5. Saves – Big Sky 4 (Chelsea Todd), Flathead 3 (Aaris Hill). Corner kicks – Big Sky 3, Flathead 3. Total fouls – Big Sky 5, Flathead 4 Cards – Big Sky 1 (yellow).
Columbia Falls 4,
Bigfork 0
COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls scored twice in each half to easily take its first conference game of the season against Bigfork.
Katie Price scored two minutes in on a pass from Ellie Johnson and the Wildkats kept the pressure on from there.
Joyce Hatfield scored in the 34th minute and Tavia Bechtem shortly after halftime on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. Johnson finished the scoring with a last-minute goal for Columbia Falls.
The Wildkats outshot Bigfork 20-7.
Bigfork 0 0 — 0
Columbia Falls 2 2 — 4
CF- Katie Price (Ellie Johnson), 2’
CF- Joyce Hatfield, 34’
CF- Tavia Bechtel, PK, 53’
CF- Johnson, 79’
Shots on Goal- B7, CF 20. Keeper saves- B 15 (Celeste Rehbein), CF 6 (Allyson Gimbel). Corner kicks- B 4, CF 5. Fouls- B 7, CF 4. Yellow cards- Bigfork 1.
Whitefish JV 1,
Stillwater Christian 0
Mackenzie Grover scored on a direct free kick from 25 yards out to send the Whitefish JV to a nonconference victory at Stillwater Christian.
The Cougars had more chances than Whitefish, outshooting the Bulldogs 22-11 and earning two corners, but weren’t able to capitalize.
Whitefish JV 1 0 — 1
Stillwater 0 0 — 0
W—Mackenzie Grover (free kick), 30’
Shots on Goal-W 11, SC 22. Keeper saves- W 11, SC 9. Corner kicks- W 1, SC 2. Fouls- n/a. Cards- none.