Wildcats tangle with Libby in soccer semis

By JOE SOVA - Hungry Horse News

Composure. Concentration. Focus.

Columbia Falls had it all in a soccer shootout with Billings Central in the first round of the boys playoffs on Friday (Oct. 12) in Billings. The Wildcats converted four of their five shootout attempts while goalkeeper George Kimerly rejected three of the Rams' tries, giving CFHS a 2-1 victory and a berth in the state semifinals at Libby on Saturday (Oct. 20). Match time is 1 p.m.

"It was a good result for us on the road. We played with confidence," Cats coach Peter Browne said. "We controlled the first half and overtime."

The Cats took a 1-0 lead into intermission as Chase Jason took a crossing pass from DJ Stoneman in the 28th minute and headed the ball past Central keeper Cody Linde and into the net.

Central tied the game in the 68th minute, converting a corner kick on a header by Daniel Pearson.

Neither team scored in either of the 10-minute overtime periods, forcing the shootout.

The Cats and Rams alternated attempts, identical to penalty kicks, with CFHS shooting first. Travis Pete's shot caromed off the crossbar and Browne said it appeared to cross the goal line, but it was "declared not in" by the referee.

Michael Eggen scored on the Rams' first try, but the Cats would take a 3-1 shootout lead while Kimerly blocked the next two Central attempts. The goals were by Jackson, Grant Getts and Josh McNeil.

On Central's third and fourth shootout attempts, the referee ruled that Kimerly left his mark to defend too soon. But the Cats junior was up for the task, stopping one of the two replacement tries. Will Whitworth found the net to cut the Cats lead to 3-2.

The Cats sealed the win when Stoneman, who took most of CFHS' penalty kicks during the regular season, blasted a shot past Linde for a 4-2 lead. Kimerly iced the victory cake by stopping Central's final shootout attempt.

"He was really focused," the coach said of Kimerly. "He was dialed in."

When it seemed like things were going against him when he was called off his mark, Kimerly "hung in there," Browne said.

The coach also lauded the performance of shooters Pete, Jackson, Getts, McNeil and Stoneman.

Both CFHS-Libby games during the regular season were very tight. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie in Libby and the Loggers edged the Cats 2-1 in Columbia Falls.

"We just have to play quickly and play our game and not let them rattle us," Browne said. "They like to play the ball long. We can't play their game. We have to stick to our possession game."

Libby edge Corvallis 3-2 in the first round. In other games, defending champion Whitefish eased past Hamilton 6-2 and Livingston beat Stevensville 5-2 in overtime.

In the other seminal game Saturday, Livingston hosts Whitefish. The semifinal winners square off for the state title on Saturday, Oct. 27.

CFHS girls eliminated by Belgrade, 6-1

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The east has risen.

Back in the early day of class A soccer, a trip to the eastern part of the state meant an easy victory.

No more.

The Columbia Falls girls soccer team was handed a 6-1 defeat by Belgrade in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday (Oct. 13), ending the Wildkats' season.

"They're a good team. They're very much like the team we had when we won state," Wildkats coach Greg Trenerry said. "They're fast everywhere."

The Kats hung in there in the first half, down just 2-0. But Belgrade capitalized on corner kicks and scored on two direct kicks in the match.

Despite the score, Trenerry said he thought senior keeper Colyne Hislop had a good game.

"She made a lot of good saves," he said.

The score could have been worse, he noted.

The Panthers outshot the Kats, 17-6. Jamie Valov had the Kats' only goal at the 54-minute mark on an assist from Kassi Hebert.

Hebert had 19 goals and two assists this year. Valov ended her senior year with eight goals and seven assists, Trenerry said.

With a thin bench and plenty of injuries, Trenerry said his team did a good job this season.

"I thought they did a good job to get to the playoffs," he said. "The seniors stepped up and played well."

The Kats lose six seniors next year to graduation, but there's a big crop of freshmen coming up. About 10 are expected to join the squad next year and 10 more after that.

That will be a big boost to the program after a couple of years running where numbers were way down.

This year's team even had at least one player with no prior soccer experience — not even recreational experience. Stephanie Raymond was just a good athlete who played hard and learned a lot in the process.

Next year's team will be young — but in watching them play a few matches — they look like a good group of girls who play hard and show some speed.

The other girls playoff games on Saturday were all shutouts, as Whitefish blanked Corvallis 2-0, Hamilton edged Billings Central 1-0 and Libby topped Stevensville 2-0. In this Saturday's (Oct. 20) semifinals, defending champion Whitefish plays at Hamilton and Belgrade hosts Libby.