SOCCER: Glacier boys carry flag for Kalispell

A lot has changed in four years, not the least of which is the weather.

The Class AA state soccer tournament begins Thursday at Kidsports Complex, the first time since a snowy three days in 2012 that the champion in the state’s largest class will be crowned in the Flathead Valley.

Glacier High School is officially the tournament host and the school’s activities director, Mark Dennehy, isn’t intimidated by the prospect of hosting the event at the tail end of the region’s rainiest October in recorded history.

“Rain is fine, compared to the snow,” Dennehy quipped. “In 2012, we had snow four days in a row so we had to clear the fields every day. It was rough.”

This year, the fields at Kidsports will no doubt be slickened by the soggy skies, but for Kalispell’s lone representative in either the boys or girls field — the Glacier boys team — it’s a treat to be able to take aim at a state championship on the same fields many of them grew up playing on.

“It’s been nice to be able to train on our home turf right up until the day before,” Wolfpack senior Mathew Martini said. “We haven’t been stressing too much. It’s been different to sleep in our own beds and it does feel a little more normal than a bus and a hotel room.”

Four teams from both the Eastern and Western conferences qualify for the tournament, and Glacier enters as the fourth seed out of the West. The Wolfpack actually finished fifth in the league in the regular season but won a play-in match at Kidsports last Thursday, edging their crosstown rival, Flathead, 2-1. The Wolfpack’s last two matches have both come against the Braves after Glacier won its regular season finale 3-1.

“Our backs have been against the wall and we continue to respond in key moments, pressure situations,” Glacier coach Ryan Billiet said. “Beating a crosstown rival back-to-back is extremely difficult to do, and I don’t know anybody else in the state that has had to face those challenges — win or go home type scenarios — and we feel like we have, and we’ve embraced it.”

Glacier (7-7-1) started the season slowly, going 2-5-1 in its first eight matches, including a 5-2 loss to Bozeman at a jamboree in Great Falls on Aug. 27. The Wolfpack is 5-2-0 in its last seven outings and looking forward to another crack at the Hawks (12-1-1), the Eastern conference champs and Glacier’s first round opponent today at 2:30 p.m.

“We were pretty bad in the beginning of the season,” Wolfpack senior Parker Bedard said. “Now that we’ve changed everything, I think that we really have a shot at Bozeman.”

Glacier’s season turned with a 5-4 win over Western conference champion Missoula Hellgate on Sept. 22. That victory kicked off the Wolfpack’s 5-2 closing stretch and gave confidence to a young team that underwent a midseason formation switch and a handful of personnel changes.

“We just really focused and put our minds to it and decided ‘we can win this game,’” Martini said of the match against Hellgate, the Knights only loss of the season. “Since then, we’ve kind of realized that we do have the skill and composure to beat a lot of teams.”

This is Glacier’s third straight appearance in the state tournament and just the fourth in the school’s 10-year history. The Wolfpack’s best finish was fourth place in 2014.

Hellgate is also the defending Class AA state champion and begins the tournament today at 2:30 p.m. against Butte. Four fields will be set up at Kidsports, with all four first round matchups to be played simultaneously. Action runs through Saturday, with the boys and girls state championship matches set for 12:30 p.m.

Helena is the defending champ on the girls side and will meet Billings West today at noon.

Class AA state tournament

At Kidsports Complex (Kalispell)

Quarterfinals

BOYS

Thursday

All matches at 2:30 p.m.

#1W Missoula Hellgate vs. #4E Butte

#2E Billings Senior vs. #3W Helena

#1E Bozeman vs. #4W Glacier

#2W Missoula Sentinel vs. #3E Billings West

GIRLS

Thursday

All matches at Noon

#1W Helena vs. #4E Billings West

#2E Billings Senior vs. #3W Helena Capital

#1E Bozeman vs. #4W Missoula Hellgate

#2W Missoula Sentinel vs. #3E Billings Skyview