Big Sky girls trip Glacier in late going, Wolfpack boys romp
A two-goal lead is the most dangerous lead, goes the old soccer cliche, and that proved to be the case on Thursday at Glacier High School.
Glacier squandered three different two-goal leads, falling 5-4 after Missoula Big Sky scored three late goals in the Western AA girls soccer match.
The Wolfpack (1-7-1 overall, 1-6 conference) had a persistent attack and looked like the stronger team in the first half. Junior midfielder Emma Paulson opened the scoring less than two minutes into the match, crashing the net after a shot by sophomore Madison Becker deflected off Big Sky keeper Grace Denman.
Glacier coach Brenden Byrd was pleased with his team’s first-half performance.
“Paulson, Becker and Taylor Brisendine all did an extremely amazing job putting a ton of pressure on their defense, not giving them a chance to get a rhythm going forward,” he said.
Glacier continued to press hard, and scored a second goal on a close-range shot by Brisendine, a sophomore. But Big Sky answered less than a minute later, as Eagles forward Whitney Morrison pounced on a defensive error and calmly scored on a breakaway goal.
“We did a great job in our midfield winning the ball early,” Byrd said. “We had a couple slip-ups, and dangerous teams will capitalize.”
The teams traded goals on either side of halftime, before sophomore Emily Cleveland surprised the Big Sky defense with a spectacular goal from outside the box. Cleveland powered the ball over the keeper and just under the crossbar to give the Wolfpack a 4-2 lead.
But the Wolfpack lead disappeared like the sun behind the afternoon squalls.
Big Sky regained the momentum when Hannah Santamaria scored on a long ball from the right wing, an attempted cross that sailed over Glacier’s back line and found the upper-left corner of the goal. Minutes later, Morrison dribbled through Glacier’s defense and tied the game with another easy goal.
Goalkeeper Sophie Smith made several excellent saves as Glacier tried to salvage a tie, but Morrison broke Wolfpack hearts with a perfectly placed cross to Gianna Migliaccio, who tapped it into the net to give the Eagles the lead with just a few minutes left.
“Big Sky’s an extremely dangerous team, you have to give them credit. They’re going to play you for 80 minutes of soccer,” Byrd said.
“That’s the big thing we’re going to take out of this. If you don’t finish an 80-minute game, you’ll end up on the losing side of it.”
Glacier gets the week off before taking on Flathead on Thursday at Legends Stadium.
Glacier 3 1 – 4
Missoula Big Sky 1 4 – 5
G – Emma Paulson, 2:00
G – Taylor Brisendine, 23:00
B – Whitney Morrison, 24:00
G – Emily Cleveland (Paulson), 28:00
B – Anna Farago (Morrison), 53:00
G – Cleveland, 57:00
B – Hannah Santamaria, 65:00
B – Morrison, 70:00
B – Gianna Migliaccio (Morrison), 76:00
Shots on goal – Glacier 14, Big Sky 12; Corner kicks – Glacier 3, Big Sky 2; Keeper saves – Glacier 12 (Ellie Keller 5, Sophie Smith 7), Big Sky 7 (Grace Denman); Fouls – Glacier 1, Big Sky 9; Cards – None.
Boys
Glacier 7, Big Sky 0
The Glacier boys soccer team coasted to a commanding victory over Missoula Big Sky.
The Wolfpack (3-5, 2-4) had the Eagles on their heels from the kickoff, striking early on a beautiful sequence of passes that led to a goal by sophomore Daniel Camp. Five minutes later, sophomore Parker Creer steered a cross from the end line to senior Connor Griffin, who blasted the ball into the net.
Those were just the first goals for Camp and Griffin, who each earned a hat trick. Camp also assisted on Griffin’s goal in the 58th minute, and had a spectacular volley off a corner kick to give Glacier a 3-0 halftime lead.
Glacier coach Ryan Billiet was thrilled with his team’s performance.
“We talked all week long, this is the start of a new season for us,” he said.
“We’ve played all these teams once already and it’s a great opportunity for us to play them a second time and continue to improve.”
Billiet pointed out Creer’s especially strong play at the wings en route to two assists. His crosses tormented the Eagles defense throughout the match. Billiet also praised sophomore Braden Nitschelm’s presence in the midfield and freshman Eli Mildren’s solid defensive work.
“We started three freshmen. We’re a young squad as you can see, and the future’s bright,” Billiet said.
The return of Kamren Barkus, who was back in the lineup after an injury in the first game of the season, helped shore up a dominant Wolfpack defense. Billiet said it brought his team some renewed confidence to have him back.
Glacier gets another shot at Flathead in their next match, next Thursday at Legends Stadium.
Glacier 3 4 — 7
Missoula Big Sky 0 0 — 0
G – Daniel Camp (Braden Nitschelm), 3:00
G – Connor Griffin (Parker Creer), 8:00
G – Camp (Luke Wilson), 30:00
G – Camp (Creer), 50:00
G – Griffin (Camp), 58:00
G – Griffin (Zane Elliot), 61:00
G – Kevin Larscheid (Elliot), 77:00
Shots on goal – Glacier 35, Big Sky 2; Corner kicks – Glacier 6, Big Sky 0; Keeper saves – Glacier 1 (Andrew Lorenc), Big Sky 16 (Josh Veach, Brandon Stevens); Fouls – N/A; Cards - None.