Wildkats play to draw with Bigfork

COLUMBIA FALLS — Bigfork’s Piper Buzzell and Braeden Gunlock buried late goals to forge a 2-2 tie with Columbia Falls in girls Western A soccer on Saturday.

Columbia Falls led 1-0 at the half from a Hope McAtee goal, and Taylor Rodgers scored in the 65th minute to make it 2-0.

“We played some great soccer for 70-plus minutes, just had to finish more of the chances we created,” Columbia Falls (6-1-2 overall, 3-1-2 league) coach Thomas Clark said. “Huge credit to Bigfork, for the way that they fought and defended and ultimately earned a good result for themselves.”

Buzzell scored in the 74th minute and Gunlock in the 76th. Bigfork is 5-2-2 and 2-1-2.

Bigfork 0 2 – 2

Columbia Falls 1 1 – 2

CF – Hope McAtee 33:00

CF – Taylor Rodgers (Riley Byrd) 65:00

B – Piper Buzzell 74:00

B – Braeden Gunlock 76:00

Shots — Bigfork 6, CF 18. Goalie saves — Bigfork 19 (Irelynd Vigil), CF 3 (Erica Burguiere). Corner kicks – Bigfork 2, CF 6. Fouls — Bigfork 7, CF 17. Cards — CF 1.

Boys

Columbia Falls 2, Stillwater Christian 1

COLUMBIA FALLS — Kai Golan’s late goal lifted the Columbia Falls Wildcats to a 2-1 non-conference win over the Stillwater Christian Cougars on Saturday,

Golan gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, but Stillwater’s Micah Strobel tied it up late in the first half.

“Coach Philip Lodien had his Stillwater Cougar varsity boys team firing on all cylinders tonight,” Wildcats coach O’Brien Byrd said. “The Cougars took our Wildcat boys and gave us everything we could handle. Stillwater is a very well-coached team and the competition tonight was reminiscent of some of our Whitefish versus Columbia Falls matches.”

Golan buried a goal in the 79th minute, his 17th of the season.

“I'm very proud of my boys for surviving the rough patches of the game through good communication, leadership and belief in one another.” Byrd said. “Traic Fainter was the spark plug in our attack, Arne Troy came off of the bench in the second half and helped find our rhythm, and of course you can't give a guy like Kai Golan an extra inch because in the dying minutes of stoppage time, he scored his second goal of the match to win it for us. Tonight was a wonderful display of a very high level of soccer that has been developed right here in our backyards.”

Stillwater 1 0 — 1

Columbia Falls 1 1 — 2

CF — Kai Golan (Traic Fainter) 21:00

SC — Micah Strobel 28:00

CF — Golan (Brady Bell) 79:00

Shots — SC 6, CF 16. Goalie saves — SC 13 (Kaden Drish), CF 4 (Rafe Rusche). Corner kicks — SC 0, CF 7. Cards — SC 3, CF 1.