Whitefish girls right where they want to be

The Whitefish girls soccer team is exactly where the Bulldogs expect to be every year — competing in a state final.

It doesn’t always work out that way, but this year it did: the Bulldogs are in their second Class A final in three seasons.

Their opponent Billings Central knocked off the Columbia Falls Wildkats 4-3 last week in a semifinal game. The Rams led 4-1 at the half before the Wildkats got them on their heels with a strong second half.

Whitefish coach Roland Benedict watched the game tape and sees some opportunity there.

“They like to play soccer and Columbia Falls kind of hung with them, especially in the second half when they got the jitters out,” Benedict said. “Billings got nervous, which shows me emotion and nerves. And so I think it's there for the taking if we come out on the front foot and, mentally and emotionally and physically, are prepared and ready.”

Last week the Bulldogs beat Hamilton 5-3 after a thrilling overtime period. Hamilton scored two late goals to force the extra frame, but Olivia Genovese scored twice in overtime to lift Whitefish to victory.

“I’m not trying to take anything away from Hamilton, but we always talk about controlling the game and being in control,” Benedict said. “We didn't stop working hard and tenacity and aggression and all that was still there, but we stopped playing the way that we played to get us there and they took advantage of it and started punishing us for those decisions.”

Still, Benedict doesn’t see anything to be concerned about from that game going into this weekend.

“We played very well in the Hamilton game,” he said. “We played very well in the Laurel game. There's a few things we need to refine and sharpen and then prepare for it.”

The week before in the quarterfinals, Whitefish dethroned defending champion Laurel in penalty kicks. Laurel was also the team that beat Whitefish in the state A final two seasons ago.

“Our senior group were sophomores in that final,” Benedict said. “They remembered … We didn't talk about it leading into training, but they were aware of that and you could tell they were much more confident than they were in the last Laurel game.”

Benedict has never shied away from using technology and advanced statistics to track player performance, and this season he took that up a notch. Maybe a few notches.

The Whitefish players now wear what are essentially tracking devices — basically a sports bra with a sensor that fits under a jersey that tracks performance over an 80-minute game. Afterwards, the data is sent to the players phones.

That allows for the tracking of running speed (and acceleration and deceleration) and distance. For instance, in Whitefish’s semifinal against Hamilton, midfielders Maya Lacey and Isabelle Cooke covered about eight miles total.

“Izzy has much more high speed running,” Benedict said. “So she's running at a faster speed longer than Maya was. Maya had more accelerations and deceleration than Isabel did. So Izzy's traveling at a faster speed more consistently. But Maya is sprinting and/or accelerating and decelerating more. So if you dive into the data, which is what we do, and then you look at the heat map and then you watch game film, you can read that.”

The Bulldogs are seeking a third state title for the program and the first one in 16 years. That year (2006) Whitefish beat Billings Central in the chipper.

Billings Central is the most successful girls soccer program in the state and their program boasts nine championships.

The pressure is certainly there, and Benedict makes a point to manage that, not just for the final, but all throughout the playoffs.

"I think all of these players have been in the playoffs every year,” Benedict noted. “And they expect to be in a semifinal every year. They expect to win games in the playoffs. So you have to make sure that they stay grounded and say, ‘Look, you have to win another week of training.’”

Whitefish, the Northern A conference champion, is 12-1-1; Billings Central is 13-1-0 and the Eastern A champ.

Saturday’s game is 11 a.m. at Smith Fields.