Dogs win streak ends with tie at Columbia Falls

There were no excuses and no pointing of fingers.

Columbia Falls simply outhustled the Whitefish boys soccer team in earning a 5-5 draw in their conference match Thursday. The tie snapped Whitefish’s winning streak at 31 games, a run that dates back to the 2011 season.

“We got what we deserved,” said Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd.

“We were a team that thought we were so good, that we could just show up and win.”

“Columbia Falls is certainly a lot tougher than that. They dominated us with mental toughness the entire game — no doubt.”

The Wildcats opened the match with two quick scores to set the tone early.

“Bam! We got punched right in the face,” Byrd said.

Survival mode set in and the Dogs responded to tie it at 2-2 at the half. They posted two more goals after the break to take a 4-2 lead into the final 10 minutes.

“Then we went back to cruise control,” Byrd said.

Columbia Falls scrapped their way back and took the lead at 5-4.

Reverting to survival mode, the Dogs managed to knock in a goal off a direct kick in the 80th minute.

“We were fortunate to tie it up,” Byrd said. “We could have easily lost that game.”

At practice the following day, no excuses were made for the lapse in mental toughness.

“I was tremendously impressed with the feedback from the guys,” Byrd said. “Everyone talked and there were no excuses or pointing fingers.”

The Dogs regrouped to post a 5-1 conference victory at Bigfork the next day.

“The tone of the squad before Bigfork was completely different,” Byrd said. “They were ready to rock.”

Whitefish opened up a 2-0 lead before Bigfork responded at 2-1.

“Bigfork is a good team, the best team they’ve had in years,” Byrd said. “We ended up winning 5-1, but we had to work for it.”

Forward Jared Johnson scored four goals in the match, upping his season tally to a state-best 13 goals.

Byrd says last week’s reality check will play a pivotal role in the Dogs’ season, and could even be viewed as a positive.

“Everybody wants to make most of the win streak, and that it was Columbia Falls that punched us in the face,” Byrd said. “But it’s a mistake that might turn out to be a benefit to the program. These guys really needed that.”

Whitefish played at Polson on Tuesday, before hosting the undefeated Stevensville Yellowjackets on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“It couldn’t be better timing to play Stevensville,” Byrd said. “We’ll be going into the match with a fresh lesson.”

Whitefish 1 4—5

Columbia Falls 2 3—5

Shots on goal — Whitefish 15, Columbia Falls 17; Corner kicks — Whitefish 7, Columbia Falls 0; Goalie saves — Whitefish 3 (Sam Benkelman), Columbia Falls 8 (Nathan Gedlaman); Fouls — Whitefish 15, Columbia Falls 8; Cards — Whitefish, 2 yellow

Whitefish 2 3 – 5

Bigfork 1 0 – 1

W – Nathan Boone (Taven Edland), 11:00

W – Jared Johnson (Edland), 13:00

B – Kyle Thomson (Tyler Zavala), 36:00

W – Johnson (Tommy Murphy), 48:00

W – Johnson (Boone), 74:00

W – Johnson (Murphy), 78:00

Shots – Whitefish 12, Bigfork 6. Saves – Whitefish 1 (Sam Benkelman), Bigfork 5 (Dillon Hilling). Corner kicks – Whitefish 3, Bigfork 2. Fouls – Whitefish 7, Bigfork 6. Yellow cards – Bigfork 1.