Lady Dogs get playoff win
The Lady Bulldogs soccer team garnered
some revenge at Laurel Oct. 15 as they shut out the Locomotives 2-0
for an opening-round win in the state Class A playoffs. Laurel
edged Whitefish 2-3 earlier in the season.
“Laurel is athletic and talented, but
our girls showed up to play,” Whitefish coach Wendy Farrens
said.
Whitefish’s lethal senior scorer led
the offensive effort. Natalie Gayner tallied in the 15th minute and
again in the 69th minute. The second goal to seal the victory came
on a through pass.
“Natalie challenged the goalkeeper and
was able to finish,” Farrens said.
It was the Dogs’ defense, however, that
was the difference on Saturday. Goalkeeper Piper Greenwood and the
back line keep Laurel scoreless on their 11 shots on goal.
“Anytime you go on the road and get a
shutout, that’s a good feeling,” Farrens said. “Our defense has
really stepped up all over the field, especially our back line.
Everyone had an awesome game.”
Whitefish (8-4-1) next travels to
Hamilton, the No. 1 seed in the South. Hamilton topped the Dogs 3-2
in a recent Oct. 8 match. The Lady Broncs topped Polson 4-0 to
advance to the semifinals. Farrens says Whitefish matches up evenly
with Hamilton.
“It’s playoff time and everyone puts
their best foot forward,” she said. “It will be an exciting
match.”
“We have to put together an entire game
again. We were able to win the individual matches in Laurel and I
hope we can do that again.”
The match at Hamilton is slated for 2
p.m. Saturday.
On the other side of the bracket,
Columbia Falls squares off with defending champs Billings
Central.
Whitefish 1 1 - 2
Laurel 0 0 - 0
W - Natalie Gayner, 15:00
W - Natalie Gayner, 69:00
Shots - Whitefish 8, Laurel 11. Saves -
Whitefish 8 (Piper Greenwood), Laurel 5 (Katrina Baumgartner).