Lady Dogs eliminated in playoff shootout

Heartbreaking.

It’s the only word to describe

Whitefish’s loss at Hamilton Oct. 22 in the semifinals of the Class

A state playoffs.

The Lady Dogs played the Broncs to a

1-1 tie after regulation and two 10-minute overtimes, sending the

match to penalty kicks. Whitefish missed just one of five attempts,

their first, while the Broncs scored on each of theirs. That was

the difference in a match that was played as evenly as

expected.

“It was definitely competitive,”

Whitefish coach Wendy Farrens said. “We had our chances, they had

there’s. It was hard fought. My hat is off to them.

“We fought until the end. Everyone on

the field just played their hearts out.”

Whitefish senior Natalie Gayner gave

the Dogs a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute on an assist from Cherstin

Ling. Gayner challenged the keeper and was able to put it in the

net.

Hamilton’s Bri Huggans tied in up 11

minutes later to set up the shootout.

Whitefish peppered Hamilton with 20

shots on goal and Lady Bulldog keeper Piper Greenwood tallied 14

saves.

“We were pounding them, but it didn’t

go our way,” Farrens said.

Farrens said she was proud of the team

and thankful for the help of assistant coaches Andrew Bestwick and

Chris Terrell

“I’m really proud of the progress we

made,” Farrens said. “It was fun to see the girls grow as players.

Everyone learned a lot.”

Farrens said she had a great first

season as head coach.

“I had a blast, it was a lot of fun

getting to know the girls,” Farrens said.

“All season, we’ve been talking about

team and teamwork. Everyone bought into what we were trying to

do.

“The whole team put in a lot of effort.

We were able to win a lot of big games.”

Whitefish 0 1 0 0 - 1

Hamilton 0 1 0 0 - 1

WF - Natalie Gayner, 50:00

H - Bri Huggans (Meghan Kratofil),

61:0

Shots - Whitefish 20, Hamilton 17.

Saves - Whitefish 14 (Piper Greenwood 14), Hamilton 17 (Marina

McGourty 15, Martiah Rall 2). Corner kicks - Whitefish 7, Hamilton

6. Total fouls - Whitefish 4, Hamilton 4. Yellow cards - Whitefish

1. Red cards - Whitefish 1