Pack boys keep building

It would be hard to tell they’re a little banged up and missing a few starters but the Glacier Wolfpack didn’t miss a beat Thursday in an 8-0 victory over crosstown rival Flathead.

Glacier was out two starters against conference leader Hellgate last weekend too (a 0-0 tie), and coach Ryan Billiet just wanted to build on that.

“Certainly guys have been asked to step into other roles and they did it with such high quality and such a good standard that it's just really encouraging,” Billiet said. “They had a good structure, good defensive organization, which we're happy with.”

From the opening kickoff the Wolfpack didn’t hold back.

Joey Paolini scored one minute into the game off a Bridger Dalla Betta pass. Harrison Sanders, Sullivan Coggins, Dalla Betta, Hunter Lisowski and Jake Ritzdorf all scored before halftime, where Glacier led 6-0.

And the Pack didn’t hold back in the second half either. Billiet was pleased with the tempo of play in both halves.

“The finishing was very clinical this evening and that's been something we've been talking about,” Billiet said. “You have to finish. And I think we were a lot more proficient in front of the net tonight, so that was just good to see.

“You couldn't tell if there were subs or not, guys stepped in and did the things they've been training and working so hard to do.”

Zane Elliott scored and Lisowski buried his second of the night in the second half.

Glacier is 9-1-1 with three games left, including Saturday against Missoula Sentinel.

Things couldn’t be more different for Flathead, who is 1-10 this season, but sometimes soccer takes a backseat to other things. Several area high school students have died by suicide in recent months and the effects on the community have been far reaching.

“It's been a challenging year and I would say more for our players emotionally with what's been going on in the valley than soccer-wise,” Braves coach Zach Brenneman said. “I know quite a few of my guys were pretty close with a lot of those kids, so that's been challenging for us and just trying to navigate that and also continue to play soccer has been tough.”

Still, there are some positive things to glean from Thursday night and a challenging season overall.

“The first half we seemed like we were just a little stale and like, we just weren't having fun playing soccer,” Brenneman said. “And I think in the second half we found a little fire and we came out and played with a little more passion, a little more energy. They found a way, regardless of the score, to have fun playing soccer for 40 minutes. So that was good.”

Flathead also has three games left, including a tough matchup with Hellgate Saturday and then Sentinel and Butte next week.

“We should be able to compete, so that'll be fun,” Brenneman said.

Glacier goalkeepers John Pyron and Dylan Holly combined for two saves in the shutout and Flathead’s Jonathan King made five saves.

The score of the girls game was 0-0. Full game information was not available at press time.

Flathead 0 0 — 0

Glacier 6 2 — 8

G — Joey Paolini (Bridger Dalla Betta) 1:00

G — Harrison Sanders (Sullivan Coggins) 17:00

G — Coggins (Paolini) 20:00

G — Dalla Betta (Hunter Lisowski) 21:00

G — Lisowski (Jake Ritzdorf) 27:00

G — Ritzdorf (Sanders) 39:00

G — Zane Elliott (Coggins) 43:00

G — Lisowski (Ritzdorf) 74:00

Shots — Flathead 3, Glacier 18. Goalie saves — Flathead 5 (Jonathan King), Glacier 2 (John Pyron, Dylan Holly). Fouls — Flathead 2, Glacier 3. Cards — none.