Playoff bound lady strikers fall to Libby

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish Lady Bull-dogs were in a deadlock with Libby in the first half of Saturday's season finale at Smith Fields, but the girls ended up losing control in the second half as the Lady Loggers prevailed for a 3-1 win.

The match decided the Northwestern A season champion, and the Libby girls were happy to have Anna Valentine on their team. She scored all three goals on Saturday, and Whitefish just couldn't find a way to stop her.

The Lady Bulldogs actually got on the board first when Meagan Powell took an assist from Kelsey McCluskey in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead. Valentine would answer back for the next three goals at 28, 57 and 73 minutes.

Libby out shot Whitefish 14-12 in the game.

Whitefish will be the No. 2 seed from the conference when they travel to Belgrade on Saturday in a rematch of last year's state championship match.

"We're looking forward to it," senior captain Hannah Long said. "We have some history with them."

"We're just really excited to go and play our best soccer," head coach Lini Reading said. "Obviously, we want to focus on intensity throughout the match, from the first whistle to the final. We want to work on our speed of play, attacking and defending with numbers. Belgrade is well coached, but I think we have as much talent as any team in the state. It's just a matter of putting it together at the right time."

Whitefish will be missing senior defender Kylie Smith due to injury, but they should be at more or less full power on Saturday.

"We had some moments where our greatness showed through this season," Long said. "As a senior, it's a lot to think about. It's hard thinking that this game could be our last. There's eight of us (seniors), and we all want it."

"We're looking to show everyone that Whitefish is a contender," senior co-captain Powell said. "The seniors have been in the state final the past four years, and it's nice knowing we have a coach who's been there before. Experience everywhere is going to be beneficial to us."

Powell said the key for her team is to learn from the mistakes of the last two games.

The Lady Bulldogs finished 5-1-2 in conference and 7-3-2 overall. Kickoff in Belgrade is set for 1 p.m.

Whitefish 0, CF 0

The Lady Bulldogs fought their cross-valley rivals the Wildkats to a scoreless tie on a cold and windy Thursday afternoon at Smith Fields in Whitefish. The tie secured a playoff berth for Columbia Falls, as the Lady Bulldogs were already assured a spot.

Whitefish got off twice as many shots-on-goal than Columbia Falls, but 'Kats goalkeeper Niesha Thompson was credited with 13 saves.

Whitefish had a number of good scoring opportunities in the second half, but shots by Meredith Reed, Carly Lengstorf and McCluskey were either saved by Thompson or sailed over the crossbar.