Callender, C-Falls sink Stevi

COLUMBIA FALLS — Hannah Callender has manned a position not her own throughout the 2017 season.

The Columbia Falls senior, looking for any way to help the team in her final year, slid back from forward, her natural position, to midfield.

The move paid dividends for Columbia Falls, which earned the top seed in Northern A with a 9-1-1 record. Callender’s personal numbers, while still above average, have not reached the heights they likely could have had she stayed put, however.

But on Saturday night, she got back to doing what she does best — putting the ball in the net.

Callender gave the Wildkats an early lead with a scoring strike in the second minute, jump-starting an offensive onslaught that propelled Columbia Falls to a 6-0 win over visiting Stevensville in the Class A girls soccer quarterfinals on a cold, damp evening at Flip Darling Field.

“She is a forward. She loves to score goals. That’s what she’s meant to be,” Columbia Falls coach O’Brien Byrd said.

“But we had to convert her into a midfielder, because she’s strong as an ox, she’s great distributing, she can shoot from distance. To take that away from her — and she unselfishly accepted that role — to see her get on the board, you should see her smile. I’ve never seen her smile so big. It meant a lot for her to get on the board like that tonight.”

Calender wasn’t done after the first goal.

She added two goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half, Columbia Falls’ third and fourth on the night, to secure her hat trick and put the game out of reach.

“It was such a relief,” Callender said. “I haven’t really gotten to play (forward) all year, so it was nice to finally do what I felt most comfortable in.”

Josie Windauer also had a hat trick, and Hannah Gedlaman added three assists from the Wildkats’ front line, which overwhelmed their opponent as they often have throughout the year.

“When those girls — that front three — get the ball, any one of them can score,” Byrd said. “It makes it nice as a coach, because if you can stop one, you can’t stop the others. Good luck stopping all three.”

Though the quick start provided by Callender gave no indication of such, Byrd said his team was caught of guard by Stevenville’s scheme at the beginning of the game.

Unlike the first meeting between the two teams, the Yellowjackets attempted to press early, which foiled the Wildkats’ possession-heavy strategy.

Columbia Falls instead went on the attack, and the plan worked to perfection.

Stevensville struggled to create scoring opportunities in the first half and placed only nine shots on goal in the game.

“Their back line was high,” Byrd said. “We didn’t expect that, but we have some fast players and were able to get behind them early.”

Callender did so in just the second minute, and Windauer followed with a goal in the 20th minute.

After Callender completed her hat trick, Windauer matched it with goals in the 64th and 77th minutes.

“It’s really important just to have that momentum and carry it all throughout the game, which I think we really did,” Callender said. “That was really helpful.”

Columbia Falls’ victory, its first in the playoffs since 2014, advanced Byrd’s squad to the state semifinals, where it will face the juggernaut of the state — Billings Central, the two-time defending state champion.

The Rams, undefeated on the season at 11-0-2, beat Loyola/Valley Christian 6-0 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the state semifinals for the 10th consecutive season.

“They’re a very, very good team,” Byrd said. “They’ll be the best team we’ve faced all year.”

The matchup will provide Columbia Falls an opportunity to advance to the state championship game for the first time since 2014, when the Wildkats fell 2-0 to Laurel. It will also be a chance to exact some revenge, as it was Billings Central who bounced Columbia Falls from the 2016 playoffs in a 7-1, first-round rout.

“We’re definitely looking to get Billings Central back,” Callender said. “We’re looking for that rematch. Last year, we went down there and didn’t do so great, but we’re looking to show them who we are now and how much we’ve succeeded this year and how much effort we’ve put into it.”

Stevensville 0 0 — 0

Columbia Falls 2 4 — 6

CF — Hannah Callender (Hannah Gedlaman), 2:00

CF — Josie Windauer (Callender), 20:00

CF — Callender (Gedlaman), 50:00

CF — Callender (Joyce Hatfield), 59:00

CF — Windauer (Kaylee Ashe), 64:00

CF — Windauer (Gedlaman), 77:00

Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 24, Stevensville 9. Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 9, Stevensville 2. Goalie saves — Columbia Falls (Madeline Jarvis) 9, Stevensville (McKenzie Brownlee) 18. Fouls — Columbia Falls 9, Stevensville 5. Cards — None.