Rangers end boys soccer season
<p>Whitefish senior Nathan Boone (left) battles for position with Park High's Cole Burkhardt (19) Saturday afternoon during Whitefish's matchup against Livingston in the first round of the Class A playoffs at Smith Fields in Whitefish. Oct. 19, 2013 in Whtiefish, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
The Whitefish boys soccer season came to an abrupt end Saturday as the two-time defending Class A state champions were ousted from the playoffs in the first round.
Park High of Livingston posted a flurry of second-half goals to shock the No. 1 seed Bulldogs 4-0 in front of a rowdy crowd at Smith Fields.
Whitefish beat No. 3 seed Livingston 5-1 earlier in the season, but the Dogs struggled to find their finishing touch last weekend. The teams battled to a 0-0 tie at the half despite Whitefish controlling the pace of play.
“We weren’t being dangerous enough,” Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd said. “We played the best possession soccer we have all season, but we didn’t create a lot of chances and we didn’t finish a few that we probably should have.”
The Bulldogs made a few adjustments to play more direct after the break, but the Rangers delivered their knockout punches just minutes into the second half.
Daniel Newhouse tallied on a cross from Conner Amsik in the 47th minute to break the tie.
“They scored on a sloppy moment for us and a scrappy moment for them,” Byrd said of the play.
Two minutes later, Park’s Tom Short one-touched a corner kick from Newhouse past Whitefish goalkeeper Casey Ling.
Byrd could see his team was shaken.
“We crumbled,” he said, bluntly. “The seniors started thinking that this could be their last game, and the negative mentality took over.”
Whitefish couldn’t recover.
Daniel Newhouse added another goal in the 58th minute and Steve Newhouse capped the scoring in the 75th minute.
As Byrd reflects on the match, he says the best team didn’t win on Saturday.
“But the best team didn’t deserve to win either,” he said “We didn’t have it that day. Give Livingston credit. They had what it takes.”
“We lost 4-0, but not due to a lack of effort. The guys played their hearts out.”
He hopes the seniors walk away from this roller coaster season better prepared for the ups and downs of life.
“I hope they look back and not focus on the negative, but grow from it,” he said. “Let this make you stronger. Learn from it and apply it to life. It’s been a great season and I’m proud of them.”
Whitefish finished 6-0-2 in the conference and 9-2-2 overall.
Senior Nathan Boone finished the regular season with 14 goals and 18 assists to lead the team and state in total points.
Forward Jared Johnson racked up 18 goals to finish third in the state in scoring.
Livingston 0 4 — 4
Whitefish 0 0 — 0
L - Daniel Newhouse (assist Conner Amsk), 47:00
L - Tom Short (D. Newhouse), 49:00
L - D. Newhouse (unassisted), 58:00
L - Steve Newhouse (Cyler Cain), 75:00
Shots on goal - Livingston 8, Whitefish 11. Saves - Livingston 11 (Cyler Cain), Whitefish 7 (Casey Ling). Corner kicks - Livingston 7, Whitefish 10. Fouls - Livingston 6, Whitefish 7. Yellow cards - Livingston 1, Whitefish 2. Red cards - none.