Flathead, Glacier start soccer play in G. Falls, Helena

The prep golf season began last week, football kicked off Thursday evening and now it’s soccer’s turn to enter the fall sports scene.

Class AA teams begin play today with events in Great Falls and Helena.

Flathead travels to the Electric City for matches with Great Falls High and C.M. Russell. Glacier journeys to the Queen City of the Rockies to face Billings West and Butte.

Flathead and Glacier open Western AA play on Sept. 1-2 with home matches versus Helena High and Helena Capital.

Flathead

Girls

The Bravettes (1-15-0) ended last season in thrilling fashion, upsetting rival Glacier 2-0 to advance to a playoff matchup.

That victory ended a streak of 14 straight losses.

Flathead, however, lost 4-0 to Helena Capital a couple days later to miss out on a trip to state.

“We finished on a high note,” second-year coach Jenni Sipe said.

“I hope we carry that momentum to the start of this season,”

Clara Vandenbosch, a senior defender/midfielder, returns along with Sara Clarin, a senior defender, and Shayenn Thompson, a junior midfielder. Vandenbosch was a first-team all-state selection as a junior. Clarin was first-team all-conference last fall while Thompson earned all-conference honorable mention honors.

All total, the team has 11 returning letter winners.

“We started last year and were on the road for the first half of the season,” Sipe said.

“This year we start (conference play) at home.”

She figures that will help the Bravettes get off to a more successful start.

Scoring, a major problem last year (just eight goals during the regular season), should be improved with a veteran unit back despite losing six starters.

“From what I’ve seen in practice, I’m hopeful,” Sipe said of the offense.

“I am excited. This crew is very hard working. Defense was stronger than our offense last year.”

Thompson was the team’s top scorer in 2016.

“We had so many close games last year,” Sipe said.

“We didn’t get enough in the net. We didn’t have many (matches) over a two goal difference. We were in a lot of games. A couple of them, even in the last 5 and 10 minutes of the game,”

Aaris Hill, a junior, took over keeper duties at midway point of the season and gained some “great experience, some great varsity time,” according to Sipe.

“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Sipe said this year.

“I’m excited. It’s a great group of girls to work with. They are hard workers, very talented.”

Returning letter winners — Vandenbosch, Clarin, Thompson, Hill, Julia Sauve, senior, defender/midfielder; Molly Adams, senior, defender; Heather LaSalle, junior, midfielder; Amber Reiner, junior, midfield; Tilynne Vasquez, sophomore, defender/midfielder; Chloe Nadeau, sophomore, midfielder/forward; and True Gannon, sophomore, midfielder.

Boys

Nate Evans, in his third season as head coach, has seven starters back.

Leading that veteran group is Hansen Eystad, a senior forward who garnered first-team all-conference attention last fall. He was the Braves second leading scorer with three goals and one assist.

“The last two years were the best seasons in the last eight years (of FHS soccer),” Evans said.

“Last year was the first winning season (5-4-3) in eight years. The program didn’t win a game for four years.”

Flathead finished fourth in conference play in 2016.

“That was huge,” he said. “We beat and tied Sentinel and tied Hellgate and Helena.”

Those were the top three teams in the division.

“Those were teams we never competed with in the past,” he added.

“There were a lot of games we should have won. This year we’re more mentally and physically mature. They are hungry, want a lot more.”

Flathead will have a new keeper in Max Wornell.

“A great, natural, shot stopper,” Evans said of Wornell.

Freshman Hudson Magone could also see some minutes in goal.

Defenders Brandon Pyron, a senior, and Tyler Kluesner, a junior, are returning starters along with midfielder Gage Magone, a senior.

Returning letter winners — list not available.

Glacier

Boys

Coach Ryan Billiet enters his fourth season with his most experienced and talented squad to date.

The Wolfpack lost just two seniors to graduation and return 13 letter winners, including all-state senior forward Rohit Tappeta.

“We’ve also got guys (back) who put in some pretty good minutes last year,” he added.

Back are the team’s three leading scorers — Tappeta, senior forward Tyler Keller and senior midfielder Conner Heil, who was an all-conference honorable mention pick a year ago.

“We’re pretty heavy on the seniors this year,” Billiet said.

Tappeta totaled nine goals and eight assists, Keller had seven goals and two assists and Heil six goals and three assists.

Glacier (8-9-1 a year ago) has qualified for state play three straight times with Billiet, advancing as far as the semifinals his first season.

“We’re hoping to take it one step further,” he said. “We lost to Billings Senior in a shootout (at state last year in loser-out play). I was very proud of how we finished. That’s fueling how we’re going into this season. Basically I feel like we’re starting off like we left off last year.”

The turning point last fall came at the mid-season mark.

“We started playing possession soccer, were patient in our attack, more balanced in terms who is scoring goals,” he said. “We were not so one dimensional any more. We got scores from forwards, midfield play.”

He’s expecting more of that this year.

“Where everybody gets a touch, everyone will be involved,” he said. “Definitely one unit. If they get to that point, they will be fun to watch, fun to coach. I’m looking forward to see what they can do.”

Returning letter winners — Tappeta, Keller, Heil, Logan Hill, Andrew Lorenc, Kamren Barkus, Ryan Symmes, Ben Bridwell, Connor Griffin, Brady Schultz, Micah Reason, Collin Kazmier and Dyllyn Stabler.

Girls

Brenden Byrd, in his seventh season as head coach, welcomes back Cadie Williams, a first-team all-state forward senior, and senior Ellie Stevens, a first-team all-conference center- back.

Gone are three starters.

“It’s a great looking group,” Byrd said of the 2017 players.

“We have 10 letter winners back.”

Williams was the team’s leading scorers last year and also led in assists.

“(The girls) have been with each other all summer long,” he said. “They are clicking so well.

“Our underclassmen are our biggest surprise for us,” he continued.

“We will have four freshmen in our starting lineup.”

The Wolfpack failed to qualify for state the two previous seasons, but Byrd figures this group has the potential to end that skid.

“Our senior class finished third in our conference and lost in double OT to the eventual state champs their freshman year,” he said. “They have been so easy to work with, so coachable. They show so much respect to the coaches that we will do anything to make them better.”

The Wolfpack will have a new keeper in goal. The two battling for starting honors there are sophomore Sophie Smith and freshman Ellie Keller.

“Defensively we have a lot of veterans,” he said.

“I feel they will step up to the job (and take pressure off the keeper).”

Returning letter winners — Stevens, Williams, Lindsay McDonald, senior, defense; Erica Braig, senior, center-mid; Paulina Carbajal-Jepsen, junior, defense; Celeste Kimble, junior, forward/defender; Gabrielle Dickson, junior, forward; Micah Hickethier, sophomore, center-mid; Mercedes Altman-Rebich, sophomore, midfield; and Emma Paulson, sophomore, midfield.