Columbia Falls sweeps Whitefish in soccer

COLUMBIA FALLS — The goals came quickly for O’Brien Byrd’s squad Saturday afternoon.

And, thankfully for him, they never stopped coming.

In Byrd’s first match against the team he coached to four state championships, Columbia Falls topped Whitefish in a wild 6-4 contest, capping a sweep of the Bulldogs that included a 2-1 victory for the girls earlier in the day.

“It was an emotional roller coaster,” Byrd said of coaching against his former team.

“We had a lot of good years over there.”

Byrd spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Whitefish, turning the Bulldogs into a powerhouse and even earning the National Coach of the Year award after the 2012 season. In February, Byrd stepped down at Whitefish to take over the boys soccer program at Columbia Falls, his alma mater.

After Saturday’s game — the first win for the Wildcats over Whitefish since 2005 — Byrd spoke about the moment.

“I’ve been dreaming of this for a long, long time,” he said.

“Longer than a decade. Finally, my dream has come true and regardless that it’s Whitefish, it’s just great to see these guys enjoy the game and play with such heart.”

Saturday’s match started with three goals in the first seven minutes and the pace barely faltered from there. The Wildcats never trailed, and after Whitefish climbed back to within 5-4, Jakob Grein put the game away with a goal in the 72nd minute.

“Ten goals, you don’t see that a lot,” Byrd said.

“Both teams were pushing hard and you leave some holes back there when you’re pushing so high and pressing so hard. Both teams were taking risks today.”

The Wildcats (3-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 Northern A) opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest when Daniel Skinner buried a pass from Logan Stephens on a counter-attacking breakout. Stephens made it 2-0 in the fifth minute, again on a breakaway, but Whitefish’s Xander Burger responded two minutes later.

After an Alex Garate goal made it 3-1 Columbia Falls, the teams traded tallies in the final minute of the first half to make it 4-2 at the break. The Wildcats built their only three-goal lead in the 48th minute on Skinner’s second goal before yet another Bulldogs answer.

Skinner added an assist to lead all players with three points. Garate scored two goals for the Wildcats and Walter Sobba scored on a pair of penalty kicks for Whitefish (1-7-1, 0-4-1).

In a game between rivals that added the intrigue of Byrd’s history, the match was unsurprisingly spirited.

“We embrace it,” Byrd said of his club’s mindset heading into the match.

“We let the guys know — it’s going to be emotional, it’s going to be a packed house and it’s going to get a little chippy. You don’t run away from it and play with your heart and make sure you honor your game field.”

The girls match started with 72 minutes of scoreless soccer before the teams went on a late scoring binge.

Columbia Falls had the better of the play most of the match but was unable to turn possession into goals. The Wildkats finally got on the board off a corner kick in the 73rd minute and scored again three minutes later. Ellie Johnson notched both goals after returning from a head injury in the 64th minute.

Whitefish (6-3-0, 3-2-0) rallied late, getting a gorgeous Haley Nicholson goal on a direct kick in the 78th minute and nearly netting another in the final moments off another free kick opportunity and rebound.

“(After the goals) we kind of let up and went defensive a little bit, which is like the kiss of death,” Columbia Falls coach Greg Trenerry said. “We managed to get out of there so I’m happy with it. Whitefish is a good team.”

With the win, Columbia Falls (5-2-1, 3-1-0) moved into a tie with the Bulldogs for second place in the Northern A.

Girls

Whitefish 0 1 — 1

Columbia Falls 0 2 — 2

COL — Ellie Johnson (Tavia Bechtel), 73:00

COL — Johnson (Natasha Martin), 76:00

WHT — Haley Nicholson (direct kick), 78:00

Shots on goal — Whitefish 7, Columbia Falls 11. Saves — Whitefish 9 (Kess Nelson), Columbia Falls 6 (Allyson Gimbel). Corner kicks — Whitefish 2, Columbia Falls 7. Fouls — Whitefish 11, Columbia Falls 15. Cards — none.

Boys

Whitefish 2 2 — 4

Columbia Falls 4 2 — 6

COL — Daniel Skinner (Logan Stephens), 1:00

COL — Stephens (unassisted), 5:00

WHT — Xander Burger (Casey Ling), 7:00

COL — Alex Garate (Skinner), 22:00

WHT — Walter Sobba (penalty kick), 40:00

COL — Garate (Jakob Grein), 40:00

COL — Skinner (unassisted), 48:00

WHT — Sobba (penalty kick), 53:00

WHT — Ling (Taisuke Matsuo), 68:00

COL — Jakob Grein (Tristan Grein), 72:00

Shots on goal — Whitefish 13, Columbia Falls 15. Saves — Whitefish 9 (Marty Anderson), Columbia Falls 9 (Brandon Karberg). Corner kicks — Whitefish 3, Columbia Falls 3. Fouls — Whitefish 5, Columbia Falls 12. Cards — none.