Pack nearly knocks off Knights
Glacier boys soccer coach Ryan Billiet was happy with the outcome of Tuesday’s game against Missoula Hellgate, but it was almost much better.
Hellgate’s Mathew Baldridge netted a penalty kick in the 77th minute, a goal that gave the Knights a 2-2 draw against the Wolfpack.
“That’s all we can ask for,” Billiet said. “Our keeper went out with concussion with 10-11 minutes to go. The game really tilted for about 5 minutes. We did everything we could to keep it out of there and we did. Unfortunately, they got the whistle.”
The late equalizer spoiled a lead that was earned by way of two second-half goals from Brady Schultz.
He scored in the 67th minute to tie the game, and buried another shot in the 72nd minute to give Glacier the lead. Micah Heil assisted on both goals.
Drew Lorenc recorded three saves after starting goalie Logan Hill exited with his injury, but he was unable to knock down Baldridge’s penalty kick.
“For the guys to come out the way they did after all they’ve gone through the last couple of weeks showed so much character and mental fortitude,” Billiet said. “Looked crisp and played really well. Would’ve loved to win, but it was a level game and we earned the draw.”
Glacier hosts Missoula Big Sky at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Legends Stadium.
Hellgate 1 1 — 2
Glacier 0 2 — 2
H — Mathew Baldridge (Cole Hage), 5:00
G — Brady Schultz (Micah Heil), 67:00
G — Brady Schultz (Micah Heil), 72:00
H — Baldridge (penalty kick), 77:00
Shots on Goal — H 10, G 14. Keeper Saves — H 8 (Justin Lane), G 8 (Logan Hill 5, Drew Lorenc 3). Corner kicks — H 2, G 3. Fouls — H 6, G 10. Cards — Hellgate. Yellow 2.
Flathead 1, Big Sky 1
MISSOULA — Flathead and Missoula Big Sky fought to a draw on Tuesday.
Big Sky broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 55th minute.
Flathead’s Shaine Rieke equaled the score in the 75th minute.
The Braves return home to face Missoula Hellgate at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Big Sky 0 1 — 1
Flathead 0 1 — 1
BS — 55:00
F — Shaine Rieke, 75:00
Shots on Goal — F 16, BS 2. Keeper Saves — F 5 (Max Warnell), BS 15. Corner kicks — F 10, BS 3. Fouls — F 12, BS 12. Cards — BS, Yellow 1.
Columbia Falls 6,
Stevensville 1
STEVENSVILLE — A second-half onslaught was more than enough to carry Columbia Falls boys past Stevensville on Tuesday, as the Wildcats downed the Yellowjackets in a Class A non-conference matchup.
Skylar Chute and Jakob Grein scored in the first half to give Columbia Falls a 2-0 lead, but Stevi’s Gavin Zaluski drew the Yellowjackets within a goal with a score in the 45th minute.
That was as close as they would get, as the Wildcats reeled off four goals in 16 minutes to close the game.
Tristan Grein scored two of the four goals, while Auguste Emond and Seth Hoffman added the others.
Columbia Falls hosts Libby at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Stevensville 0 1 — 1
Columbia Falls 2 4 — 6
CF — Skylar Chute, 23:00
CF — Jakob Grein (Chute), 38:00
S — Gavin Zaluski (Dylan Roberts), 45:00
CF — Tristan Grein (John Gilk), 63:00
CF — Auguste Emond, 63:00
CF — Seth Hoffman, 78:00
CF — Tristan Grein (Jakob Grein), 79:00
Shots on Goal — S 2, CF 19. Keeper Saves — S 13 (Ben Schreiber), CF 1 (Story Stemborski). Corner kicks — S 0, CF 1. Fouls — S 9, CF 8. Cards — Stevi, Yellow 2, Red 1.
Polson 8, Bigfork 0
BIGFORK — Polson routed Bigfork on Tuesday behind a hat trick by Robin Erickson.
After opening the scoring for Polson, Erickson scored twice more and added a pair of assists on goals scored by Mack Moderie.
Bridger Wenzel added a goal and an assist.
Polson hosts Whitefish at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
P — Robin Erickson (Mack Moderie)
P — Moderie (Erickson)
P — Moderie (Erickson)
P — Erickson (Alex Encizo)
P — Michael Vergeront
P — Erickson (Bridger Wenzel)
P — Connor Lanier (Vergeront)
P — Wenzel (Vergeront)
Stats not available
Whitefish 7, Libby 1
LIBBY — Whitefish scored three goals in the first 19 minutes of the second half to run away from Libby on Tuesday.
Casey Schneider netteda hat trick for Whitefish and also assisted on Sam Menicke’s goal, the Bulldogs’ second of the game.
Ammann Koch-Ford added three assists for Whitefish.
Holding a 2-0 lead at halftime, the Bulldogs created separation early in the second half before Libby cracked the scoreboard in the 60th minute.
Whitefish responded quickly, however, scoring a pair of goals in the next nine minutes to create even more separation.
Whitefish 2 5 — 7
Libby 0 1 — 1
WF — Casey Schneider (Brandon Mendoza assist), 28:00
WF — Sam Menicke (Schneider assist), 34:00
WF — Noah Romagnuolo (Menicke assist), 45:00
WF — Mendoza (Romagnuolo assist), 50:00
WF — Schneider (Ammann Koch-Ford assist), 59:00
L — Austin Swartzenberger, 60:00
WF — Romagnuolo (Koch-Ford assist), 62:00
WF — Schneider (Koch-Ford assist), 69:00
Shots on Goal — WF 18, Libby 1. Saves — WF (Upton/Bradlee Anderson) 0, Libby (Lucas) 11. Corner kicks — WF 9, Libby 1. Fouls — WF 5, Libby 2. Cards — N/A.
GIRLS
Glacier 5, Hellgate 0
For the majority of Glacier’s matchup against Missoula Hellgate on Tuesday, Cadie Williams was the only offensive weapon the Wolfpack needed.
Her hat trick put the game away early, and Glacier (3-0-1) added a pair of second-half goals to stretch the margin in a victory over the Knights.
“Our team did a great job of giving us a chance,” Glacier girls head coach Brenden Byrd said. “We did an outstanding job holding the middle of the field for us. Doesn’t hurt having someone like Cadie who has a nose for the goal.”
Maddie Becker added three assists for Glacier, including two to Williams.
Lindsay McDonald and Anna Creer scored the Wolfpack’s final two goals.
Glacier hosts Missoula Big Sky at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Legends Stadium.
Hellgate 0 0 — 0
Glacier 1 4 — 5
G — Cadie Williams (Maddie Becker), 7:00
G — Williams (Taylor Brisendine), 48:00
G — Williams (Becker), 54:00
G — Lindsay McDonald (Williams), 57:00
G — Anna Creer (Becker), 65:00
Shots on Goal — Glacier 18, Hellgate 11. Keeper Saves — Hellgate 6 (Kine Stimack), Glacier 9 (Sophie Smith 3, Ellie Keller 6). Corner kicks — Hellgate 4, Glacier 4. Fouls — Hellgate 5, Glacier 5. Cards — none.
Big Sky 5, Flathead 4
MISSOULA — A late rally by Flathead came up just short as the Bravettes fell to Missoula Big Sky on Tuesday.
“We were attacking through the final seconds of the game,” Flathead girls head coach Jenni Sipe said. “The girls are finishing well. We just have some players and positions we’re still working on.”
Flathead surrendered four goals in the first 16 minutes of the second half, digging itself a hole too large to climb out of.
Shayenn Thompson responded to Big Sky’s opening goal a minute later in the first half, but the flurry of action did not come until after intermission.
Big Sky scored twice in two minutes to open the second half, and Skyleigh Thompson pulled Flathead within a goal six minutes later.
The Eagles responded with two more goals shortly thereafter, however, giving themselves a comfortable advantage.
The margin was threatened late, as Shayenn Thompson added a pair of late goals to complete her hat trick, but Flathead was unable to equalize.
“She’s just getting a lot more confident going to the goal, and she’s got a beautiful shot,” Sipe said of Shayenn.
Flathead return home to face Missoula Hellgate at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Flathead 1 3 — 4
Big Sky 1 4 — 5
B — Whitney Morrison, 38:00
F — Shayenn Thompson, 39:00
B — N/A, 41:00
B — N/A, 42:00
F — Skyleigh Thompson (Chloe Nadeau), 48:00
B — N/A, 49:00
B — N/A, 56:00
F — Shayenn Thompson, 67:00
F — Shayenn Thompson, 73:00
Shots on goal — Flathead 9, Big Sky 30. Goalie saves — Flathead (Aaris Hill) 21, Big Sky 6. Corner kicks — Flathead 1, Big Sky 3. Fouls — Flathead 8, Big Sky 11. Cards — None.
Columbia Falls 1,
Stevensville 1
STEVENSVILLE — Columbia Falls battled to a draw on Tuesday in a non-conference game against Stevensville.
“We’re very happy with the effort we saw out there today,” Columbia Falls head coach O’Brien Byrd said. “Both teams have went through a lot. We wanted to go out there and play as hard as we could and have fun. They did that.
The Yellowjackets struck first with a goal in the 29th minute, but Josie Windauer came through with a late equalizer for the Wildkats in the 65th minute.
Columbia Falls 0 1 — 1
Stevensville 1 0 — 1
S — Kylee Merwin, 29:00
CF — Josie Windauer (Kaylee Ash), 65:00
Shots on Goal — S 7, CF 30. Keeper Saves — S 29 (Jade Johnson), CF 6 (Madeline Jarvis). Corner kicks — S 3, CF 7. Fouls — S 4, CF 7. Cards — none.
Polson 5, Bigfork 0
BIGFORK — Polson started about as fast as possible, scoring in the first minute, on its way to a pounding of Bigfork on Tuesday.
Marina Mayorga’s scored the opener and followed it with another goal in the first half.
Ashlee Howell, who assisted on both of Mayorga’s first-half goals, scored one of her own in the 49th minute, and Ali Hupka planted a pair in the net in the 61st and 65th minute, respectively, to provide the final margin.
Polson returns home to face Whitefish at 5 p.m. on Saturday, while Bigfork finishes a short homestand at 5 p.m. on Thursday against Libby.
Polson 2 3 — 5
Bigfork 0 0 — 0
P — Marina Mayorga (Ashlee Howell) 1:00
P — Mayorga (Howell) 33:00
P — Howell (Ali Hupka) 49:00
P — Hupka (Howell) 61:00
P — Hupka (River Shoemake) 65:00
Shots on goal — Polson 15, Bigfork 2. Goalie saves — Polson 2 (Megan Rost), Bigfork 10 (Ellie Berreth). Corner kicks — Polson 4, Bigfork 2. Fouls — Polson 6, Bigfork 1. Cards — N/A.