Schneider's goal lifts Whitefish

By COLIN GAISER

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH — Whitefish coach John Lacey asks a lot of forward Casey Schneider, the Bulldogs’ lone striker up top.

On Saturday, Lacey’s trust in Schneider paid off.

The junior forward scored a sensational deciding goal as Whitefish (14-0-1) survived Frenchtown 1-0 in the Class A playoff semifinal at Smith Fields.

In the 58th minute, Schneider outran and outmuscled two defenders after receiving a long ball from goalkeeper Colter Upton. He gave himself space in front of the goal and fired a laser strike toward the far post, off the desperate goalkeeper’s fingertips and into the net.

“His shot was fantastic. No blame at all to the keeper on that one. That was just a great shot,” Lacey said.

“His [Schneider’s] work rate on the day was very high. We rely on that energy.”

The goal came after both teams had multiple chances to break the deadlock early in the second half.

In the 42nd minute, the officials awarded the Bulldogs a penalty kick when sophomore Brandon Mendoza was fouled in the box going for a header. But Frenchtown keeper Dawson Leishman made an excellent save on Sam Menicke’s powerful penalty shot.

On the other end, the Broncs (11-4-0) couldn’t capitalize on numerous opportunities. In the 52nd minute, Frenchtown’s Jeff Jacobs — a menace on the wing throughout the match — lobbed a perfect cross to Caleb Stanicar at the far post. But Stanicar failed to get a solid touch on the ball, poking it wide.

A few minutes later, Stanicar’s cross from the goal line grazed the near post and caught the Bulldogs off guard, nearly deflecting off goalkeeper Colter Upton and into the net.

But it was Schneider that finally broke the tie.

“Sometimes playoffs are about just getting a result. And that’s what today was. We just gutted out a result,” Lacey said.

“Frenchtown definitely played well ... They had plenty of chances in the box, and didn’t finish it. It could have been more than 1-0 easy, could have been multiple goals for each side. But the one that counted we were lucky enough to get.”

The Broncs pushed everyone up in the final 10 minutes and came agonizingly close to a tying goal. But multiple open shots rolled right to Upton or ricocheted off Whitefish defenders packing the space in front of goal.

Upton saved a strong shot by Jacobs in the 75th minute white protecting the near post. It was one of a few excellent blocks — in the 26th minute, Upton made a diving save to stop Stanicar’s blast from outside the box.

“There were long periods when he was not asked to do much, but he stepped up when he could,” Lacey said.

“Any time it’s a clean sheet, that’s a credit to the keeper.”

A year after falling 4-0 to Belgrade in the Class A championship, the Bulldogs get another shot, hosting Polson in next week’s all-Northern A title clash.

The teams met twice in the regular season. On Sept. 22, the Bulldogs took control of the conference by crushing the Pirates 5-0. But the Oct. 4 match in Polson was a thrilling 3-3 draw.

“I’m excited because I think there will be a lot of people out here, especially if we can get another great, beautiful day like this,” Lacey said.

He is glad the Class A champion will be a Northern A team.

“We play some good soccer up here,” Lacey said.

Whitefish 0 1 — 1

Frenchtown 0 0 — 0

W – Casey Schneider (Colter Upton), 58:00

Shots on goal — Frenchtown 12, Whitefish 7; Corner kicks — Frenchtown 3, Whitefish 4; Keeper saves — Frenchtown 2 (Dawson Leishman), Whitefish 6 (Colter Upton); Fouls — Frenchtown 8, Whitefish 2; Cards — Frenchtown, 1 yellow, Whitefish, 1 yellow.

Polson 1, Belgrade 0

BELGRADE – Robin Erickson’s late goal propelled Polson to a win over Belgrade in a Class A playoff semifinal.

Polson (14-1-1) avenged last season’s semifinal loss to the Panthers (9-3-3), while ending Belgrade’s quest for a third straight state title and sixth consecutive title appearance.

Belgrade was on the attack from the opening whistle. But the Pirates’ defense stifled goal-scoring chances with several last-second tackles, and goalkeeper Kaden Nelson made some critical saves.

Polson coach Adam Fansher was proud of his defense for eliminating mistakes that plagued the team in recent weeks.

“They shut out a really good Belgrade team,” he said.

Belgrade had 15 shots on goal to Polson’s eight.

Polson recovered after a slow offensive start and tightened up the match. Fansher called the second half a “back-and-forth” battle with “both teams trading punches.”

The Pirates found a game-winner in the 62nd minute. Senior Mack Moderie had the ball and drew Panthers defenders toward him, giving Erickson space in front of goal. Erickson received the ball and finished with a low, hard shot into the net.

“Nothing fluky about it, just a good quality goal,” Fansher said.

The Panthers almost managed to send the game into overtime, but knocked a penalty kick wide in the 78th minute.

Next Saturday, Polson will visit Whitefish for a state championship battle between Northern A heavyweights.

“It’s gonna be a great showcase for soccer in Northwest Montana,” Fansher said.

“I feel like we’ve been the two best teams all year.”

Polson 0 1 — 1

Belgrade 0 0 — 0

P - Robin Erickson (Mack Moderie), 62:00

Shots on goal — Polson 8, Belgrade 15; Corner kicks — Polson 7, Belgrade 6; Keeper saves — Polson 10 (Kaden Nelson), Belgrade 6 (Luke Turner); Fouls — Polson 8, Belgrade 4; Cards — Polson 2 yellow (Zevam Walker, Bridger Wenzel).

Girls

Billings Central 3, Whitefish 0

BILLINGS – The Rams’ offense was too much for Whitefish (9-7-0) in a Class A playoff semifinal.

Central (13-1-1) entered halftime with a 1-0 lead. Then Morgan Ferestad — the leading scorer in Class A — scored twice in the second half to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Rams will face Laurel in the Class A state championship game. The two teams have combined to win the last 10 state titles.

Billings Central 1 2 – 3

Whitefish 0 0 – 0

BC – Solei Elletson (Zoie Althoff)

BC – Morgan Ferestad

BC – Ferestad (Althoff)

Shots on goal – Central 14, Whitefish 3; Corner kicks — NA: Keeper saves – Central 3 (NA), Whitefish 5 (NA); Fouls — NA; Cards — NA.