Whitefish splits with Polson in soccer; C-Falls sweeps Libby
POLSON — Whitefish freshman Ali Hirsch scored two goals and assisted on another in the second half, the last coming in the final minutes as the Bulldogs beat a short-handed Polson side 4-3 in a Northwest A conference soccer match.
Polson was assessed a red card late in the second half but used its intense pressure to tie the Saturday game with less than five minutes to play when Ashlee Howell broke free to score her second goal of the game.
“We broke their pressure,” Whitefish coach Roland Benedict said. “Even with 10 players, Polson can make you get frantic.”
Hirsch changed the game late, when she won the ball ff a shallow goal kick, making one touch before slotting the ball in the net for the win.
Benedict also praised his defense.
“Pixie Moore did such a great job dictating the tempo and keeping Howell quiet for the first 60 minutes,” Benedict said. “She was the rock of our team and getting us organized.”
Whitefish 1 3 — 4
Polson 0 3 — 3
W — Grace Benkelman (Anna Cook), 5:00
P — Aisha Clarke, 45:00
W — Abigail Shaffer (Ali Hirsch), 50:00
W — Hirsch, 54:00
P — Ashlee Howell, 63:00
P — Howell, 77:00
W — Hirsch, 79:00
Shots on Goal — W 12, P 7. Keeper Saves — W 11 (Sami Galbraith), P 5 (Megan Rost, Marina Mayorga). Corner kicks — W 1, P 6. Fouls — W 6, P 3. Cards — Polson, Red 1.
Columbia Falls 8, Libby 1
COLUMBIA FALLS — Two girls handled most of the scoring for Columbia Falls.
Hannah Gedlaman tallied four goals and Josie Windauer added three for a hat trick to lead the Wildkats to a 7-0 halftime lead and eventual win over Libby.
“She had the game of her life,” Columbia Falls coach O’Brien Byrd said of Gedlaman. “Obviously, in the goals column, she put in four, but she put it all together today.”
Ave McDonald — a freshman starting in goal for the Wildkats in place of Madeline Jarvis, who was out of town — recorded seven saves.
“I was just so proud of her,” Byrd said.
The offense gave McDonald more than enough margin for error, scoring three goals in a seven-minute span on two separate occasions in the first half.
“A game like this really allows us to focus on some things we need to work on as a team,” Byrd said. “A big element that we’d love to improve on is possession, and we certainly developed that side of the game today.”
The Wildkats will look to take control of the conference when rival Whitefish visits at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Libby returns to action at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Libby 0 1 — 1
Columbia Falls 7 1 — 8
CF — Hannah Gedlaman (Lakia Hill), 6:00
CF — Josie Windauer, 11:00
CF — Windauer, 16:00
CF — Gedlaman (Macy Sandefer), 18:00
CF — Windauer (Hannah Callender), 31:00
CF — Gedlaman, 36:00
CF — Gedlaman, 38:00
L — Zoie Spady, 41:00
CF — Callender, 75:00
Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 30, Libby 8. Goalie saves — Columbia Falls (Ave McDonald) 7, Libby (Bethany Thomas) 22. Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 7, Libby 2. Fouls — Columbia Falls 10, Libby 6. Cards — None.
BOYS
Polson 2, Whitefish 1
POLSON — Polson took a comfortable lead early in the second half to hold on for a Northwestern A victory over Whitefish.
Michael Vergeront scored on a pass from Alex Mausshardt to give the Pirates the lead in the 28th minute and Robin Erickson scored the eventual game winner in the 45th minute.
Xander Burger got a goal back for Whitefish but the Bulldogs couldn’t find an equalizer in the final 15 minutes.
Whitefish 0 1 — 1
Polson 1 1 — 2
P — Vergeront (Mausshardt), 28:00
P — Erickson (Moderie), 45:00
W — Burger (Menicke), 66:00
Shots on Goal — W 2, P 9. Keeper Saves — W 7 (Upton), P 1 (Smith). Corner kicks — n/a. Fouls — W 4, P 12. Cards — n/a.
Columbia Falls 7, Libby 0
COLUMBIA FALLS — It only took Columbia Falls half the game to do its damage against Libby.
The Wildcats scored seven goals in the first half, dismantling the Loggers at home.
Auguste Emond led the potent Columbia Falls attack with two goals and two assists. Jakob Grein added a pair of goals, while Reed Sandstrom had a goal and two assists.
“We had five different goal scorers, which we’re really excited about,” Columbia Falls head coach O’Brien Byrd said. “We played really well. We stuck with the game plan.
“We got some guys some minutes that don’t normally get as many minutes (in the second half), and I’m just proud of the way the team carried themselves.”
Libby managed only four shots on goal in the game, all of which were saved by Columbia Falls keeper Story Stemborski.
The Wildcats will look to avenge their loss to Whitefish earlier this month at 7 p.m. on Tuesday when the Bulldogs travel to Columbia Falls. Libby hosts Bigfork at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Libby 0 0 — 0
Columbia Falls 7 0 — 7
CF — Tristan Grein (Sebastian Hogvall), 11:00
CF — Jakob Grein (Reed Sandstrom), 16:00
CF — Skylar Chute, 24:00
CF — JaKob Grein (Auguste Emond), 31:00
CF — Emond, 32:00
CF — Sandstrom (Emond), 38:00
CF — Emond (Sandstrom), 39:00
Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 22, Libby 4. Goalie saves — Columbia Falls (Story Stemborski) 4, Libby (Tyler Lucas) 22. Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 5, Libby 1. Fouls — Columbia Falls 8, Libby 2. Cards — None.