Lady 'Dogs cruise to win in first round

Led by a hat trick from senior Mere-dith Reed, the Lady Bulldogs easily put away the visiting Frenchtown Broncs 4-0 on Oct. 17 in the first round of the state Class A soccer playoffs.

The No. 2-seeded Lady 'Dogs dominated time of possession in the match and hit the Broncs with a barrage of shots from all angles. Whitefish tallied 30 shots on goal while Frenchtown posted only two.

Whitefish moves on to the semi-finals and will play top-seeded Billings Central in Billings on Oct. 24.

After a shaky start to a match that featured a few early attempts on goal by Frenchtown, the Lady 'Dogs settled into their high-powered offense.

Reed scored the first of her three goals at the 20-minute mark when she booted a low ball across the goal that slipped past the Broncs' goalkeeper.

Michela Millette tacked on another goal before the half to put Whitefish in control.

Seven minutes into the second half, Reed found the net again when she hit a ball just below the crossbar and out of the keeper's reach.

She capped off her game with a blast from the right side of the penalty box that went untouched in the corner of the net.

"I was really hungry for it today." Reed said. "As a senior, it was my last game on this field and I wanted to make a statement."

Lady Bulldog coach Erin Morrison said playing Reed at the offensive outside-mid position was a recent decision.

"She said to me the other day that she played outside-mid before," Morrison said. "That sparked a light bulb, so I said, 'Let's try it,' and holy cow, it worked.

"She has such a great foot, she can cross the ball in and score from the outside."

Morrison said having another senior step into a leadership role during the playoffs, like Reed did on Saturday, will help the team in their upcoming battle with Billings Central.

"That's the kind of leadership we need and it couldn't have come at a better time."

Morrison also commended Jordan Carper on her play against Frenchtown.

"Jordan is stepping up," she said. "She is coming out of her funk and playing well for us in the middle."

Megan Apple led the shutout effort defensively.

"Megan reminded the team that the game wasn't over. Having seniors at certain location helps a lot."

Whitefish was held scoreless in its two games prior to the Frenchtown match, 1-0 to Columbia Falls and 5-0 to Libby in the season finale.

"It was tough coming off a loss to Columbia Falls and then getting spanked by Libby," Morrison said. "But, I could tell in warm ups it was going to be different. We needed this win bad.

"Now, they are getting their confidence back and our momentum is going into Billings."