SOCCER: Flathead's first win just in time
<p>The Flathead Bravettes celebrate their 2-0 victory over Glacier in a play-in match at Glacier High School on Tuesday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Flathead defender Clara Vandenbosch steals the ball from Glacier forward Gabbi Dickson during the second half at Glacier High School on Tuesday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Through one loss and then another, 14 of them in a row to be precise, first-year Flathead coach Jenni Sipe was unwavering in her belief in her team despite the presence of precious few tangible positives.
Tuesday afternoon at Glacier High School, the Bravettes rewarded Sipe for her faith and sprung a stunning 2-0 upset of the Wolfpack in a Class AA state tournament play-in match, ending Glacier’s season and putting Flathead one win away from an unlikely spot in next weekend’s state tournament at Kidsports Complex.
“I was tired of saying the score doesn’t reflect how we played,” Sipe said. “These girls have talent. These girls have heart. We talked about grit, we talked about believing, we talked about coming out and just focusing on playing our best game and that’s exactly what they did.
“These girls stepped up, they earned that win and they worked their tails off for it. I’m the happiest coach on Earth right now; so proud.”
Flathead’s (1-14-0) win was as complete as it was surprising, with the Bravettes scoring in the second minute and controlling play for the most part thereafter. The Wolfpack mustered only three shots on frame and Flathead used the confidence it gained from its early goal — the first time all season the Bravettes had led — to carry it to victory.
“That’s the thing,” Sipe said. “When you score you get so much momentum. Well, we haven’t had many goals all season so it’s hard to get some of that excitement when you don’t have the goals.”
The Bravettes scored twice in both their first and last matches of the regular season but had only four goals in the 12 contests in between. Against Glacier (4-9-2), seeded sixth out of the seven-team Western AA, the Bravettes had been clobbered 6-1 and 4-0 in two previous meetings.
“Flathead came here wanting to win a game,” Glacier coach Brenden Byrd said. “We got caught flat. We got caught just kind of hanging out, thinking that just because we outscored them 10-1 throughout the season that was going to do it.
“Truthfully, the team that wanted it more won it.”
The match-winning goal came from an unlikely source, as junior Julia Sauve — penciled in to the starting lineup for the first time all season on Tuesday — gathered a cross from Kylee Herron just outside the box and blasted it under the crossbar from the left side.
“It was a great start to the game,” Sauve said. “It gave us momentum to go into the rest of the game and stay strong.
“I was just so excited. We were so stoked.”
Flathead scored again in the 55th minute after freshman Chloe Nadeau was taken down in the box. Shayenn Thompson took the ensuing penalty kick and knocked it off the far post, but Zina Loudermilk won the race to the rebound and deposited the ball in the back of the net.
Glacier produced more pressure in the second half but struggled to get clean looks at the goal and had a tough time finding space for its top scorers. Junior Cadie Williams was marked from the opening whistle by freshman Tilynne Vasquez and junior Clara Vandenbosch had a busy day in front of keeper Aaris Hill, clearing nearly every loose ball out of danger.
“Our defense in general was awesome,” Sipe said. “We decided from the start to win 50-50s, we decided from the start to play to stay. They wanted it, you could tell. I wasn’t screaming from the sideline because they were doing what they needed to do.”
The Bravettes finished with six shots on goal to Glacier’s three, and Hill made three saves to earn the shutout.
Maddie Armstrong made three saves for the Wolfpack in defeat.
Flathead moves on to take on third-seeded Helena Capital on Friday at 1 p.m. in Helena. The Bruins beat the Bravettes by a combined 8-0 in two regular season matches. The winner Friday will advance to the double-elimination Class AA state tournament, Oct. 27-29 at Kidsports.
Flathead 1 1 — 2
Glacier 0 0 — 0
FLT — Julia Sauve (Kylee Herron), 2:00
FLT — Zina Loudermilk (Shayenn Thompson), 55:00
Shots on goal — Flathead 6, Glacier 3. Saves — Flathead 3 (Aaris Hill), Glacier 3 (Maddie Armstrong). Corner kicks — Flathead 0, Glacier 2. Fouls — Flathead 8, Glacier 9. Cards — Yellow: Flathead 1.