Lady Bulldogs top Bigfork, tie Hamilton

Whitefish 2, Hamilton 2

The Whitefish girls tied Hamilton 2-2 on Saturday in a grudge match at home between two of the state's most talented soccer teams.

The Broncs controlled the ball for most of the first half, but the 'Dogs' defense battled hard to keep Hamilton from striking first. Sophomore Mackenzie Thomas made a big clear to keep Hamilton from knocking in a loose ball, and keeper Madisen Cross snagged a rocket to the left corner of the goal to deny another scoring opportunity.

Despite Hamilton's dominance of the ball, Whitefish posted the first points of the game.

Forward Natalie Gayner opened the scoring by heading in a ball off a 30-yard free kick from Maggie Frankino at the 10-minute mark. Gayner followed the kick deep into the penalty box, jumped over the keeper's out-stretched arms and knocked the ball into the left side of the goal.

Gayner, who has been working on scoring off set plays, said she dreamed the night before of scoring a goal off a header.

Hamilton would equalize the score minutes later, knocking in a loose ball off a corner kick — catching the keeper on the opposite side of the goal.

The game went into the half tied 1-1 with no clear advantage on the scoring sheet from either squad.

The Lady 'Dogs took control of the game early in the second half, keeping the ball in Bronc territory and using solid passing to wear down the defense.

In the 55th minute, Whitefish found the net for the second time of the day off a set play.

On a corner kick from Sam Dittman, Karissa DeMarco ran in from the back of the penalty box to clean up the loose ball and found an empty net on the right side of the goal. She kicked in the go-ahead goal with her left foot.

Hamilton quickly evened up the score, though, by knocking in a loose ball in front of the Whitefish net.

The game ended in a 2-2 tie, with Whitefish having a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal and a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Morrison said her team was disappointed in the tie.

"My girls wanted to win," she said. "I like to see that they aren't satisfied with the outcome."

Hamilton is a likely playoff-bound team, and Morrison said it was important for her team to play against the equally matched competition.

"Hamilton is a good team to have a battle with," she said. "It's fun to play a team like that. We learned that we can't stop and that we have to finish our shots. Every chance on goal might be the last."

The Bulldogs beat Hamilton in the second round of the 2008 State A playoffs.

Whitefish 2, Bigfork 1

The Lady Bulldogs soccer team opened Northwestern A conference play in Bigfork on Thursday with a 2-1 win over the Valkeries.

Two goals late in the second half lifted Whitefish to victory.

Gayner found the back of the net in the 60th minute off a pass from Linnaea Keane to even the match at 1-1. Five minutes later, sophomore Cherstin Ling kicked in the game-winning goal.

Whitefish head coach Erin Morrison said she was impressed with the team's ability to finish their shots in the second half after failing to post any points in the first.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated the offensive time of possession, tallying 17 shots on goal to Bigfork's eight.

Bigfork scored early in the opening half on a goal from Kenna Hauns at the 7-minute mark.

Whitefish goalie Madisen Cross had two saves in the match.