Vikings advance to state semifinals

The Vikings beat Livingston 2-1 last Saturday to advance to the semifinal round of the Class A state soccer playoffs.

Kyle Thomson scored two goals for Bigfork, and Livingston’s one goal was an own goal that Bigfork essentially scored against themselves.

“It was a great game,” head coach Bill Buxton said. “From the very onset of the game our play felt comfortable, and then we scored in the ninth minute very easily. I felt like we had control of the game the whole time. It’s pretty nice to see how we’ve progressed.”

Buxton said the one Livingston goal was one of the few times they got a shot in on Bigfork. “We were a little shocked when Livingston’s goal went in,” Buxton said. Bigfork’s next test will be in the semifinals on Saturday in Corvallis.

Corvallis won their conference with a 12-1 record, and beat Libby in their first round game 4-2. “It’s going to be a pretty tough test for us for sure,” Buxton said. “Hopefully we can surprise them a little bit. If we can get ahead early in the game, our defense can hold out.”

Bigfork’s Northern A Conference foe, Whitefish, also advanced to the semifinals on the other side of the bracket, beating Hamilton in overtime. They will face Belgrade, 12-1, in their semifinal match.

Bigfork lost to Whitefish once and beat them once this season.

“They have a similar hill to climb,” Buxton said of Whitefish. “I also think Corvallis and Belgrade are beatable and they’re due for a loss.” But while there is a chance the teams could see each other again in the final round, Buxton isn’t looking that far ahead.

“The boys are all really excited to have gotten this far,” he said. “We’re just happy to be here. We’re just going to be focused on Corvallis.”

Bigfork 2, Livingston 1

Bigfork 1 1 — 2

Livingston 1 0 — 1

B — Kyle Thomson, 9:00

L — Bigfork own goal, 30:00

B — Thomson), 49:00