Pack hounds Hellgate in Western AA soccer playoffs
Glacier stormed back in the second half of its Class AA girls soccer playoff game on Friday, topping Missoula Hellgate 3-1 to earn the third seed from the West at next weekend’s state tournament.
The Wolfpack (9-3-1) trailed 1-0 at half, but had little doubt it would rally in a game it dominated throughout.
“We said, stick to our game,” Glacier coach Brenden Byrd said. “Don’t put your heads down, don’t revert back to boom ball. Stick to our game and it will come.”
Glacier had more than a dozen scoring chances in the first half but it was Hellgate that carried the halftime lead thanks to a timely counter attack. The Wolfpack had two tries in the opening minute, but a deep clearing pass by the Hellgate defense found Knights junior McKell Wilson on a breakaway, who slotted a shot past the keeper to take the lead in the third minute.
Glacier held possession for most of the rest of the half and shelled shots at the Hellgate net, but was unable to convert, sailing most of the attempts high and wide, with one free kick attempt ringing off the crossbar.
“We were playing as hard as we could, other than finishing our chances,” Glacier senior forward Cadie Williams said. “We realized that at halftime, if we didn’t play good in the second half we’d be done. It kind of hit us then.”
The Wolfpack finally broke through early in the second half, with Kenzie Williams lofting a free kick on net only for the ricochet to bounce out to older sister Cadie for a tap-in goal in the 44th minute.
“It felt so good,” Cadie said. “So relieving. I love that feeling it’s so cool.”
The Williams sisters connected again four minutes later, with Kenzie arcing a free kick to the back post for Cadie to head in, giving Glacier a 2-1 lead.
The Wolfpack continued to control the ball and broke through again late to get some breathing room.
Freshman Taylor Brisendine made a run on goal in the final 10 minutes but was brought down on a tackle in the box. Cadie Williams finished off her hat trick with a shot that bounced off the crossbar in the top right corner of the goal, allowing the Wolfpack to kill the clock in the final minutes for the win.
Glacier secured the West’s third seed with the victory and will open the state tournament against East second seed Billings Skyview. The Falcons (9-2-1) have a balanced attack this season with four girls netting at least 13 points.
It is the first time Glacier has been to the tournament since 2014.
“It’s amazing,” said Cadie Williams, who was a freshman on the Wolfpack’s last state tournament team.
“I didn’t appreciate it then. I didn’t know what it meant to go to state. It feels really, really good.
“I’m just excited to be there again. We worked so hard to get here. I’m just excited to show the state what we can do.”
Hellgate 1 0 — 1
Glacier 0 3 — 3
H — McKell Wilson, 3:00
G — Cadie Williams (Kenzie Williams), 44:00
G — C. Williams (K. Williams), 48:00
G — C. Williams (penalty kick), 73:00
Shots on Goal — Hellgate 11, Glacier 20. Keeper Saves — Hellgate 18 (Kine Stimac), Glacier 8 (Sophie Smith). Corner kicks — Hellgate 4, Glacier 4. Fouls — Hellgate 9, Glacier 7. Cards — Hellgate, Yellow 1.