Kats bounce back, blitz Bigfork, 1-0

Hard-nosed defense and a lone goal in the 62nd minute allowed Columbia Falls to record a girls soccer 1-0 shutout victory over visiting Bigfork on a hot Tuesday afternoon. The win evened the Wildkats' Northern A Conference record at 1-1 after a 4-2 loss to Libby last Saturday. C-Falls is 3-2 overall.

Sophomore midfielder Breanna Hopper netted the only goal in the win over Bigfork, a team that the Kats shut out 3-0 in the season opener. Junior Niesha Thompson, who had four saves, recorded her second shutout of the year.

"We played hard the whole game," C-Falls head coach Greg Trenerry said. "We just couldn't get it (the ball) in (the goal). Their keeper had some good saves and they packed it in on us. We had a lot of opportunities."

While Bigfork was held to five shots on goal, the Kats had 19.

After a scoreless first half, the Kats finally got on the board with 18 minutes remaining in the match. All alone at 28 yards out, Hopper blocked a clearing pass and drilled a shot just over the hands of Valkyries freshman keeper Danielle Keeler.

Bigfork had just two shots on goal in the second half while C-Falls had a number of scoring opportunities. Katy Darling rifled a shot off the crossbar with two minutes to play.

C-Falls did not allow a single corner kick by the Vals while the Kats had four.

Kats assistant coach Nicolette Bales told the team after the win, "You didn't let up," referring to how they played after scoring the goal.

"They fought the whole game," Bales said of Bigfork, which had just a couple of substitutes for the game.

LIBBY BUILT a 3-0 halftime lead over C-Falls last Saturday, scoring in the 6th, 27th and 30th minutes. Anna Valentine and Jaime Gilden found the net, followed by an "own goal."

The Kats got within 3-1 on a goal by Hopper 10 minutes into the second half, assisted by Danielle Delventhal, but Libby padded its lead in the 70th minute on a shot by Gilden.

"We did have trouble covering her," Trenerry said of Gilden. "She was supposed to be marked. She's pretty active."

Elena Potter scored the second C-Falls goal in the final minute of the match on her corner kick that could have deflected off a Libby defender.

"I give them credit for coming out and playing well the second half," Trenerry said. "We won the second half, but we have to play a whole match. Libby is a good team. They're fast."

The Loggers outshot the Kats, 19-14. Thompson had eight saves, and Audra Poppen had nine for Libby.

C-Falls is idle until the Kats play Sept. 24 at Whitefish. They host Polson on Sept. 26.

Wildcats blanked by Libby, Bigfork

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

It's taking some time for the Columbia Falls boys soccer team to find its chemistry, but promise was shown in Northern A Conference losses to Libby and Bigfork.

Libby built a 2-0 halftime lead and went on to black the Wildcats 4-0 Saturday in Columbia Falls. The Cats dropped to 0-3 in the league and 0-5 overall with a 4-0 loss to Bigfork on Tuesday, also on their home field.

Crawford Dinning and Marco Vences scored in the first half for the Loggers. Edson Vences and Cree Maloney found the net in the 57th and 70th minutes, respectively, in the second half.

Libby outshot C-Falls, 20-4. Jacob Calderwood, who was pressured throughout the match, had 15 saves for the Cats. Lewis Brossman got the shutout in goal for the Loggers.

Bigfork scored twice within a span of less than two minutes midway through the first half Tuesday. Alex MacCallum and Luke Scrase netted the goals. Lael Richmond scored in the 46th minute, then MacCallum was left unmarked and dribbled in for a point-blank shot into the net past Calderwood with 17 minutes left in the match.

Calderwood made a great sliding save in the final minute. He had 10 saves, as the Vikings outshot the Cats, 20-3. None of the C-Falls shots were on goal. Nate Roberson had the shutout in goal; he had no saves.

"We're really having a hard time finding out mix on the field and our spirit. We didn't compete very well at all last week," C-Falls head coach Peter Browne said after the loss to Libby. "Hopefully that will change. "We're looking for improvements and to get better, game by game."

Browne gave credit to Calderwood for his effort in each match. "He's been solid and he's getting better every game," the coach said.