Whitefish soccer bests Stevensville; advances to state A title game
STEVENSVILLE — Just like the first time they met, it was an offensive explosion between Whitefish and Stevensville.
And like the first time, the Bulldogs came out on top as Kyler Jonson scored twice in a 4-3 victory to send Whitefish to the Class A soccer state championship game.
Silas Seibert opened the scoring for the Yellowjackets (13-1-0) in the first half, finding the back of the net.
Jonson got the Bulldogs (11-2-1) on the board from the penalty spot in the 30th minute, making it 1-1 at the break.
Jonson gave the Bulldogs the lead midway through the second half on an unassisted goal.
Stevensville battled back though as the state’s leading scorer David Beames tallied his 36th and 37th goals of the season in a three-minute span to tie the game at 2-2.
Whitefish kept with it though, and Henry Barbieri tied the game at 3-3 with just four minutes left in the game.
Rowan Perkins added the winner just two minutes later as the Bulldogs completed the comeback victory to advance to the state championship game against Billings Central.
Whitefish 1 3 - 4
Stevensville 1 2 - 3
S — Silas Seibert (Anton Ptok)
W — Kyler Jonson PK 30:00
W — Jonson 59:00
S — David Beames 60:00
S — Beames 62:00
W — Henry Barbieri (Griffin Gunlikson) 86:00
W — Rowan Perkins (Kyler Jonson) 88:00
Shots — Whitefish 10, Stevensville 9. Corner kicks — Whitefish 8, Stevensville 4. Fouls — Whitefish 11, Stevensville 11.
Billings Central girls 3, Columbia Falls 2
BILLINGS — Billings Central scored a pair of second half goals thanks to Amaya Lorash and Avery Sorensen and advanced to the Class A soccer championship match with a 3-2 victory over Columbia Falls.
“I’m extremely proud of how the girls fought for throughout the entirety of the game,” Wildkats coach Thomas Clark We controlled possession for significant portions of the game and unfortunately just couldn’t get it done.”
The Wildkats (10-3-1) jumped in front initially after Onnika Lawrence found the back of the net 11 minutes in.
Billings Central tallied the next three goals though, equalizing through Ella Brandon in the 33rd minute. Lorash put the Rams (12-0-2) in front right after the halftime break, and Sorensen made it 3-1 in the 55th minute.
Tatiana Raymond cut the deficit to one in the 61st minute, but Columbia Falls couldn't complete the comeback.
“The girls have had a great year, and our seniors can hold their heads high knowing they were the leaders of a great team,” Clark said.
Billings Central advances to play Laurel in the state championship game.
Columbia Falls 1 1 - 2
Billings Central 1 2 - 3
C — Onnika Lawrence (Taylor Rodgers) 11:00
B — Ella Blandon 33:00
B — Amaya Lorash 41:00
B — Avery Sorensen 55:00
C — Tatiana Raymond (Riley Byrd) 61:00
Shots — Columbia Falls 11, Billings Central 13. Saves — Columbia Falls 11 (Erica Burguiere), Billings Central 6 (Lorelai Hutzenbiler). Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 1, Billings Central 1. Fouls — Columbia Falls 6, Billings Central 4. Cards — none.
Billings Central boys 1, Columbia Falls 0
Bowman Seitz scored the lone goal of the game in the 54th minute as Billings Central defeated Columbia Falls 1-0 in a battle of unbeatens in the Class A soccer semifinals Saturday.
“Today was one of those days where the game was so tight that only a little bit of luck was going to separate the two teams,” Wildcats coach O’Brien Byrd said. “Even though the Wildcats dominated possession and had twice the amount of chances to score, it was Billings Central that got on the board first.
“And after that we hit the post a couple times and tried to throw everything we had at them but nothing would go in.”
The Wildcats were unable to find a way past Logan Hutzenbiler in net for the Rams (14-0-0), though they tested him with 12 shots on target.
Columbia Falls goalkeeper Rafe Rusche made 11 saves in the game as the Wildcats finished the season 12-1-1.
“I'm incredibly proud of this team and their undefeated regular season and impressive post season,” Byrd said. “I want to thank all my seniors for the past years of dedication to our program.”
Columbia Falls 0 0 - 0
Billings Central 0 1 - 1
B — Bowman Seitz 54:00
Shots — Columbia Falls 12, Billings Central 13. Saves — Columbia Falls 11 (Rafe Rusche), Billings Central 8 (Logan Hutzenbiler). Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 5, Billings Central 1. Fouls — Columbia Falls 12, Billings Central 13. Yellow cards — Billings Central 2 (Cole Bland, Sawyer Guenthner).
Laurel girls 3, Whitefish 0
LAUREL — Darby Boehler scored six minutes in, and the Laurel Locomotives powered into the Class A state championship match with a 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Whitefish team.
Leading scorer Delaney Smith and defender Macie Schmidt missed the game for the Bulldogs (9-4-1) with injuries picked up in their quarterfinal win over Hamilton.
Elly Poser added a second goal for the Locomotives (10-0-4) in the 22nd minute and Aubri Roth sealed the victory with Laurel’s third just out of the half.
“We amplified our attack but didn’t put any in the net,” Bulldogs coach Kelly Ordway said. “Though we are disappointed to bringing an end to the season, we are very proud of all our players.”
Laurel will go on the road to face Billings Central in the state title game.
Laurel 2 1 - 3
Whitefish 0 0 - 0
L — Darby Boehler 6:00
L — Elly Poser 22:00
L — Aubri Roth 47:00
Shots — Whitefish 8, Laurel 20. Saves — Whitefish 17 (Jackie Solem), Laurel 8 (Raelyn Wagner). Corner kicks — Whitefish 4, Laurel 10. Fouls — Whitefish 2, Laurel 2.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to show the correct assist on Rowan Perkins goal.