Class A soccer: Columbia Falls, Whitefish host to semifinal games

This weekend there are Class A soccer semifinal games in Whitefish, just as there has been for most of the past six postseasons.

And this year is one of those years that both the Whitefish boys and girls play at Smith Fields for a chance at the championship game.

The Whitefish (11-2-0) girls have made two appearances in the final in the past three years; last year they were ousted by Billings Central, who they beat 4-0 last week in the quarterfinals.

Lockwood is the visitor for Saturday’s 12 p.m. game after beating Stevensville in the first round. The Lions are 8-2-3 and have freshman Meadow Mahlmeister, the state’s leading scorer with 31 goals, at the helm.

“They’re a similar team (to Billings Central),” Whitefish girls coach Roland Benedict said. “They have a focal point of their attack. Meadow Mahlmeister has scored 31 of their 54 goals on the season, which is over 60 percent.”

Benedict notes that minimizing Mahlmeister’s opportunities and the way the offense is run through her and instead dictating the pace of play will be key for Whitefish.

“It'll give us the opportunity to do what we do well and that's dictate the game and attack the opponent,” Benedict said. “We have multiple ways, 3, 4, 5 different ways that we can score goals on teams.”

The Bulldogs do have a number of weapons: Olivia Genovese (19 goals, 11 assists), Delaney Smith (15 goals, nine assists), Isabelle Cooke (13 goals, eight assists) and Sadie Olson (nine goals, six assists).

“If we can manage the way they like to attack and dictate the game, it'll be a very similar game to the Billings Central game,” Benedict said. “And that’s credit to Lockwood. Lockwood's in the second year of their program and they're becoming a threat. We're gonna be prepared for them and we're gonna be ready. We're not taking them lightly or in any way different than we would prepare for one of the best teams in the state. And we're gonna come out ready to go.”

Columbia Falls’ opponent is less of an unknown quantity — it’s the Bigfork Valkyries, who have played the Wildkats (11-1-2) two other times this fall, both times ending in a draw. The game is 1 p.m. at Flip Darling Field at CFHS today.

Bigfork (8-3-2) pulled off a massive upset by ousting perennial contender Laurel 3-2 in the first round last weekend. Columbia Falls dispatched Hamilton 2-0.

“We feel confident that if we create the chances the way that we've had in the past few matchups against them, that we're gonna put away some goals and give ourselves a good chance of winning,” Wildkats coach Thomas Clark said.

The Wildkats have played in a semifinal three of the past four years, but haven’t been in a state final since 2014, where they fell 2-0 to Laurel.

In the first meeting of the Wildkats and Valkyries this fall, the Wildkats went up 2-0 early and led 3-2 at the half. Josie Harris made it a 4-3 Columbia Falls lead, but Piper Buzzell scored off a corner kick to tie it 4-4. Buzzell and Braeden Gunlock scored late goals that tied it 2-2 in the second game.

But there are no ties in playoff soccer.

"It's gonna be a tightly contested match,” Clark said. “They have great fans, their girls get super excited on the bench, every time they make a tackle. They bring a lot of energy and they make things hard for you with the way they defend. They're very physical, they're a big athletic team.”

Bigfork is in its first official season as a Class A school, though the soccer team has competed in the classification for a while.

Buzzell has 10 goals and is Bigfork’s leading scorer. Braeden Gunlock has scored nine goals and sister Paeten has scored eight goals. Brynn Bagley has seven goals.

Hope McAtee leads the Wildkats with 24 goals and 21 assists, Josie Harris has 23 goals, six assists, and Mila Johns and Onnikka Lawrence both have nine goals.

“We're very confident, feel good about it, feel excited, and at the same time have a ton of respect for Bigfork,” Clark said. “They coach defensive intensity over there. They're well structured on the defensive end, especially, they make things hard for you. We know that as well as anybody and certainly Laurel found out this weekend.”

Lone Peak is the Whitefish boys’ guest this Saturday, and the Bulldogs are eager to get back to another state final after bowing out in the semifinals last fall after winning four consecutive Class A titles.

The Bighorns enter Saturday 9-1-3 after beating Stevensville 3-2 last week. Whitefish (13-0-0) topped Livingston 2-0 in its quarterfinal game.

“Our goal is always to play a style that allows anybody on the field to be in the right place at the right time,” Whitefish boys coach John Lacey said. “We don't wanna be dependent upon individual brilliance. It's great when players have that capacity to win a a moment, but we want to play a style where we build everybody into the position where the goal is the goal and we want to go get it. And it doesn't depend on who's there.”

The Bulldogs’ attack is well balanced: There’s Ryder Elliott (12 goals, eight assists), Kyler Jonson (13 goals, three assists), Preston McPherson (eight goals, four assists) and Collin Lyman (seven goals, three assists).

Lone Peak has Cash Beattie with 15 goals, Beckett Johnson with eight goals and Arlo Hurlbut with four goals and three assists.

“They're a top team,” Lacey said. “They finished in a strong conference, made it through the regular season with an outstanding record. I fully anticipate that they're gonna make it hard for us. If I recall, their defensive performances this year have been really stout. And as a result, I think our challenge to score goals is gonna be tested. We love scoring goals, so we're gonna try, maybe it's strength against strength, but that's our mission always.”

If the Bulldogs win today, they would not have another home game — by virtue of the bracket, the other side gets to host the A final this year.

“No matter what happens in our game, if we advance, we're gonna have to go on the road, and that makes this the last game for our seniors,” Lacey said. “That's a pretty special thing for our guys. They've been a part of a lot of great games on that field. We’re gonna miss them and want them to have a special day no matter what happens.”