Whitefish boys win 10th title, beat Rams 1-0
The Whitefish boys soccer team poses with its championship trophy after winning the 2023 Class A Boys State Soccer Championship over Billings Central at Amend Park in Billings on Saturday. The Bulldogs won 1-0. (Amy Lynn Nelson/Billings Gazette)
BILLINGS –– Call it a perfect 10.
Whitefish battled Billings Central and came out with a 1-0 win in the Class A boys soccer final on Saturday, the program’s 10th overall championship.
Preston McPherson buried a long ball from keeper Ethan Bourque in the 60th minute, and the Bulldog defense held off the Rams the rest of the way.
“Outstanding game,” Whitefish coach John Lacey said. “A real midfield battle where both teams kind of were limited in our opportunities. Billings had more of the play in the first half. They had periods where they kind of pinned us back and I think this is the first time all year we've been outshot. They definitely had a little bit more in the first half. But our guys held on, the defense did great.”
The win caps a perfect season (15-0-0) and marks a return to form for Whitefish, who won four consecutive titles from 2018-21 but was bounced by Livingston in a semifinal last fall.
Both teams allowed fewer than 10 goals all season, so the tough defensive battle was to be expected.
McPherson’s breakaway goal was different from the ones Whitefish usually scores, Lacey noted. But it still counts,
“We were limited in our opportunities,” Lacey said. “We had some in the first half and we could've scored a couple. I thought we would, but again, both defenses played really well. The goal that we got, Preston's, it was a great goal, but it was not the goal that we're used to getting.”
Whitefish now pulls even with the Billings Central girls with 10 total titles, the most in MHSA history. It’s a strong legacy and one that the players uphold for the years to come.
“The ones that have come before have helped these boys feel that they have a place here and they want to keep it going in part for the guys behind them,” Lacey said. “It’s a good thing to be a part of.”
Whitefish 0 1 — 1
Billings Central 0 0 — 0
WF — Preston McPherson (Ethan Bourque) 63:00
Shots — WF 7, BC 11. Goalie saves — WF 11 (Ethan Bourque), BC 6 (Logan Hutzenbiler). Corner kicks — WF 1, BC 6. Fouls — WF 16, BC 14. Cards — WF 2, BC 2.