C-Falls girls surprise Whitefish in soccer

WHITEFISH — Columbia Falls topped Whitefish 3-0 in Northern A Conference girls soccer play on Thursday at Smith Fields.

Columbia Falls led 1-0 at the half.

Whitefish (5-4 overall, 4-1 league) beat Columbia Falls on Sept. 11, 3-1.

“We didn’t start playing until the second half,” Whitefish coach Roland Benedict said.

“We acted as practice dummies, but ran a lot in the first half.”

Benedict said Whitefish “had the majority of possessions and starting creating goal-scoring chances” after intermission.

“We just couldn’t put it in the back of the net.

“(Columbia Falls forward) Josie Windauer is a very athletic player, one of the hardest players to play against in the state,” Benedict said.

“We played the better soccer through the second half, we kept the ball, we got the ball wide, played throught the middle, but Columbia Falls defensively held strong.”

Whitefish continues with conference play on Saturday at Libby while Columbia Falls entertains Polson.

Columbia Falls 1 2 — 3

Whitefish 0 0 — 0

Scoring, statistics not available

Boys

Whitefish 1,

Columbia Falls 0

WHITEFISH — Brandon Mendoza’s goal at 53 minutes, with Sam Menicke assisting, allowed Whitefish to slip by Columbia Falls in a Northern A contest at Smith Fields.

“They held us to zero-zero to 40-some minutes last time (we played),” Whitefish coach John Lacey said.

“We were expecting another robust defensive effort and they did even better than last time.”

Whitefish (9-0, 5-0) won the first meeting 4-0.

“I was confident we would find a way,” Lacey said.

“It just took more time than we thought.

“It’s good when the rivalry games are as good as they are,” he added.

“It helps both teams and I know the guys like to get up for these big games.”

Whitefish had 10 shots on goal to five for Columbia Falls. Whitefish had a big advantage in corner kicks, 7-0.

Whitefish plays at Libby on Saturday while Columbia Falls hosts Polson. Both matches are league outings.

Columbia Falls 0 0 — 0

Whitefish 0 1 — 1

W — Brandon Mendoza (Sam Menicke), 53:00

Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 5, Whitefish 10; Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 0, Whitefish 7; Keeper saves — Columbia Falls 9 (Story Stemborski), Whitefish 5 (Colter Upton); Fouls — Columbia Falls 8, Whitefish 7; Cards — Columbia Falls, 1 yellow

Tuesday

Polson 8, Bigfork 1

POLSON — Polson rebounded from its first loss of the season — 5-0 to Whitefish last Saturday — to bust Bigfork in Northern A Conference play.

Mack Moderie scored two goals and assisted on two more. He has 22 goals for the season.

Robin Erickson had two goals and one assist for the Pirates (8-1, 4-1).

Jeremy Herd netted a shot for Bigfork.

Polson is back in action Saturday at Columbia Falls.

Bigfork 0 1 — 1

Polson 6 2 — 8

P — Nico River (Mack Moderie), 6:00

P — Moderie (Bridger Wenzel), 17:00

P — Wenzel (Robin Erickson), 23:00

P — Sam Whealon (Moderie), 28:00

P — Kaden Nelson, 38:00

P — Erickson (Tray Lichtenberg), 38:00

P — Moderie (Wenzel), 49:00

B — Jeremy Herd (Baltazar Alcaraz), 53:00

P — Erickson, 66:00

Shots on goal — Bigfork 3, Polson 22; Corner kicks — NA; Keeper sav es — Bigfork 14 (Caden Riedesel), Polson 3 (Xavier Stalkfleet 1, Kakden Nelson 2); Fouls — NA; Cards — NA.