Cats get two big wins on the road against Loggers, Vikings

Columbia Falls blanked Libby 2-0 on the road in a key Northern A conference win in boys soccer Saturday and then edged Bigfork 3-2 in the final seconds for a win Tuesday. Daniel Skinner scored on a penalty kick at the 39-minute mark and Logan Stephens capped off the victory with a breakaway strike at 68 minutes to seal the victory against the Loggers.

Stephens put in a shot in on a corner kick in the closing seconds against the Vikings as the Cats rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit.

The Cats are now 3-2 in conference play heading into the last week of the season. Coach O’Brien Byrd said the team’s fortunes and attitude changed after a 6-0 drubbing by Polson a couple of weeks ago.

“That Polson lashing was our turning point,” he said. “Then the win over Whitefish was proof of what we could do if we were willing to fight for a win.”

Byrd noted the Cats stuck to their game plan and trusted each other, particularly on defense, where they shut down Libby’s Cory Wood, one of the best players in the state.

The Cats face Polson at home Thursday and Whitefish on the road Saturday. The Polson game is at 5 p.m., the Whitefish game is at 2 p.m.

The goal is simple: Win out. If the Cats win their last three, they’d host the play-in game next Tuesday to make it to the state playoffs. If they lose any of those games, they still could take third, but they’d have to travel for the play-in game.

The team’s goal at the start of the season was to make it to the state playoffs.

Columbia Falls 1 1 — 2

Libby 0 0 — 0

CF — Daniel Skinner, pk, 39:00

CF — Logan Stephens, breakaway, 68:00

Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 15, Libby 11; Goalie saves — Columbia Falls 10 (Brandon Karberg), Libby 8 (Raffael Weber); Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 7, Libby 7; Fouls — Columbia Falls 10, Libby 11; Cards — None.