Boys tie; Glacier girls win last-minute PK; Pack girls edge Bravettes
Seemingly everyone in Legends Stadium was prepared for a Glacier victory.
Flathead’s bench players stood silently on the sideline — some with their arms crossed and others with hands on hips — as precious time leaked off the clock.
The Wolfpack reserves, on the other hand, waited excitedly near the boundary, ready to rush the field and celebrate a victory over their crosstown rival.
Then the whistle blew.
Glacier was called for a penalty in the box, allowing Flathead’s Hanson Eystad a chance to knot the game.
He did exactly that, sending the penalty kick to the left side of the net as the Wolfpack keeper dove to Eystad’s right.
The goal gave the Braves, who were playing with 10 men after a red card, an improbable 3-3 tie in a game that seemed destined to end in defeat just seconds before. The Glacier girls earned a hard-fought, 1-0 victory in the nightcap.
“I want to thank God and our fans,” Flathead boys coach Nate Evans said. “I was extremely proud of our resilience and fight. Our guys battled to the end. It’s extremely hard to hang in to a game with 10 men. It’s even harder to come from behind with 10 men.”
Ryan Symmes gave Glacier a go-ahead goal, one that felt to the Wolfpack to be the game-winner, in the 71st minute, only to see it matched in the final moments.
“The game can be so cruel sometimes, but we love it,” glacier boys coach Ryan Billiet said. “It’s a beautiful struggle. It makes us stronger. We’ve got to give ourselves a little but better cushion going into the final moments.”
Flathead struck early on a long goal by Eystad and led for most of the first half, but Glacier scored twice in four minutes near the end of the half to take its first lead.
It didn’t last long however, as Flathead’s Colter Goss netted an equalizer just before the half.
Glacier controlled the ball for much of the second half and finally took advantage on Symmes’ goal off a free kick, but Flathead escaped with a tie with mere seconds to spare.
“I told them, ‘We still need a goal, so don’t just stop attacking. We’re losing,’” Evans said. “You’ve got to try to win. You’ve got to respond.
“Our guys have been looking for something to dig into, looking for something to get some momentum and get some identity. We’ve kind of gone up, down, up, down from preseason to here. Now it’s just a matter of showing up every game and playing for 80 minutes.”
The nightcap was almost just as tightly contested, but a Cadie Williams goal in the 54th minute was enough to push the Wolfpack over the Bravettes.
“That’s a gritty win. The girls dug deep, did everything they possibly could from defense to midfield to our forwards,” Glacier girls coach Brenden Byrd said. “Flathead played an outstanding game, and we knew no team was going to roll over. This is what it takes to be at this level. When it’s 0-0, we’re going to keep fighting.”
Flathead kept the Glacier star under wraps for most of the game, but she shot through traffic and put it past the keeper for the deciding goal on a brisk night under the lights.
“Cadie came through,” Byrd said. “Flathead put a lot of attention on her, and they did an outstanding job shutting down our attack. But there’s only so long that’s going to happen.”
The Bravettes, who allowed the fewest goals of any game this season, had their opportunities with eight shots on goal, but Sophie Smith denied each of them in goal for the Wolfpack.
“Overall, as a team, we really stepped it up and played a great entire game,” Flathead girls coach Jenni Sipe said. “I’m actually really proud of the way we performed tonight.
“The team is really starting to pull together and step up. Their heart is in it.”
Flathead travels to Missoula Big Sky for a 3:30 p.m./5:30 p.m. boy/girl doubleheader on Thursday, while Glacier also hits the road to Missoula to face Hellgate on Thursday at the same times.
BOYS
Flathead 2 1 — 3
Glacier 2 1 — 3
F — Hanson Eystad (Colter Goss), 12:00
G — Brady Schultz, 35:00
G — Micah Reason (penalty kick), 38:00
F — Goss (Jalen Hawes), 40:00
G — Ryan Symmes (Rohit Tappeta), 71:00
F — Eystad (penalty kick), 81:00
Shots on Goal — Flathead 5, Glacier 10. Keeper Saves — Flathead 19, Glacier 7. Corner kicks — Flathead 4, Glacier 3. Fouls — Flathead 22, Glacier 14. Cards — Flathead, Yellow 3, Red 1.
GIRLS
Flathead 0 0 — 0
Glacier 0 1 — 1
G — Cadie Williams (Anna Creer), 54:00
Shots on goal — Glacier 19, Flathead 8. Corner kicks — Glacier 12, Flathead 2. Keeper saves — Glacier (Sophie Smith) 7, Flathead (Aaris Hill) 11. Fouls — Glacier 9, Flathead 6. Cards — None.