Lady 'Dogs edge Stevi

It was an atypical situation for a team that has tallied 50 goals this season.

Whitefish’s girls soccer team peppered Stevensville’s keeper with a barrage of attempts in the opening half of the Class A state playoff game Saturday — but nothing was hitting the net. Tied 0-0 at half, coach Erin Morrison laid it out for her team.

“We can’t win if we don’t score,” she sternly told them. “Don’t make this your last game.”

“I had to shake them at little at halftime,” Morrison said afterward. “Then it kind of hit them that they have to win this game if they want to keep playing this season. A tie or loss won’t cut it.”

Natalie Gayner finally found the net in the 55th minute, and Presley Pritchard followed 10 minutes later to give the Lady Bulldogs a 2-0 victory. Gayner’s goal came off a perfect assist from Pritchard, which she easily put away in the upper right corner.

The first goal was a huge relief for Morrison and the team.

“Everyone could take a deep breath,” she said. “Then we put in another one. I knew they’d get some shots to go in.”

In all, Whitefish hit Stevi’s keeper with 43 shots on goal and dominated the pitch until the final whistle.

“I have so much confidence in the team,” Morrison said. “We passed well and we didn’t panic. I have to hand it to Stevensville. I think we learned that every team is going to battle us.”

The coach commended her midfield for controlling the pace of the game, pointing to Charlotte Kamarath.

“Charlotte just gets it,” she said. “She goes for every ball and has the heart that the team learns from. That’s the type of role model and leader I want the girls to look up to.”

Early in the match, Kamarath and Sam Dittman had the green light to shoot at will. The duo let shots fly from all angles, but everything was just wide or over the crossbar.

“I want those two to take a shots because they can score from so many places,” she said. “I always tell them I’m not going to be mad at them for shooting when they have no pressure. We were just off, but it was a good game to be off.”

Whitefish next hosts Belgrade in the semi-finals — a match that on paper looks even.

Morrison said Belgrade is a strong team that implements a rotating lineup, where every player plays every position at some point in the match.

“Their movement off the ball is fantastic,” she said. “We have to play quick, and the defense has to step up. It’s going to be down to the wire.

“We have to get on the board first and play high-pressure offense. We need to make them make mistakes and get the ball in the net.”

The match is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Smith Fields.