Girls head to Laurel for state title game

Neither rain nor snow seems to stop the Wildkat girls soccer team from their quest for a state A crown.

Last Saturday dished up a little of both.

Now the Kats will play a little bit in the dead of night, facing the Laurel Locomotives away for the state crown Friday night at 6:30.

Laurel beat Whitefish 2-1 last week. Even though the Kats are undefeated in class A play, they still have to travel because the top seed in the East gets the luck of the draw this year. Laurel is 8-4-2 overall. The Kats' only losses have come from AA Hellgate and Flathead.

The Kats made it to the finals in convincing fashion, dominating a Hamilton team 2-0 in a game that was never really that close.

The Kats controlled the ball extremely well and were constantly pressing the Broncs.

"They played a real good game," said coach Greg Trenerry. "It was probably their best match of the year. They looked real good."

They also played stellar defense once again, anchored by Cassie Stoneman, Tory Hoye and Michelle Valov, allowing Hamilton just four shots on goal.

Trenerry said they worked on their defense prior to the game, especially on winning headers at midfield.

On offense, the Kats didn't miss a beat. Lisa Carter scored 37 minutes in on an assist from Kim Pearce—a dual combination that has worked well for the squad since Pearce recovered from an injury early this season. Carter then scored again at the 42-minute mark on an assist from Sarah Franck.

The goals bring Carter's season tally to 25 this year—and she's just a junior.

"These girls are pretty driven," Trenerry said. "They were really ready for that game, and I'm proud of them as a team. They're probably the best team I've ever had that played as a team."

Columbia Falls outshot the Broncs 21 to four. The Cats have only allowed eight goals this year, and five of them were to AA squads.

Trenerry expects Laurel to be physical.

They had 14 fouls against Whitefish.

"I think they're a pretty scrappy team. A physical team," he said.

To be honest, there was a hope that Whitefish would actually beat them so the state championship game would be at home.

So be it. The Kats can't do much about that. They're just focused on going down there and playing good soccer.