The drought is over: Cats beat Dogs

For the first time in 10 years, the Columbia Falls boys soccer team has beaten the Whitefish Bulldogs.

The effort came with plenty of drama, as the boys edged the Dogs 6-4 at home at Flip Darling Field Saturday.

The closest the Wildcats came to beating the Bulldogs was in 2013, when they tied, 5-5.

It was an emotional win for first-year coach O'Brien Byrd. He coached many of the Whitefish players last year, before coming to Columbia Falls this year. Still, it was a sweet victory and a must-win for the Cats, keeping their playoffs hopes alive.

"I couldn't be more proud of them," Byrd said. "We had our backs against the wall. This win means a lot. We've been busting our butts."

The boys are 3-5 overall, but 2-2 in the Northern Conference at third place. They suffered a 6-0 blowout Sept. 21 to Polson, who leads the conference at 3-0-1.

But against the Bulldogs, the Cats scored early and often, with senior captain Daniel Skinner scoring on a feed from Logan Stephens at the 1-minute mark. Stephens then scored four minutes later. It looked like it might be a rout.

But the Bulldogs hung in there and it was 4-2 at the break. Whitefish added two more goals late in the second half to trim the Cats lead to 5-4, but Jakob Grein knocked in a shot at the 72-minute mark to seal the victory.

The Cats travel to Libby Saturday. If they can get a victory on the road, their playoff chances would improve dramatically. The Loggers are second in the conference at 3-1. Libby beat the Cats 4-1 earlier this season.

Whitefish 2 2 - 4

Columbia Falls 4 2 - 6

COL - Daniel Skinner (Logan Stephens), 1:00

COL - Stephens (unassisted), 5:00

WHT - Xander Burger (Casey Ling), 7:00

COL - Alex Garate (Skinner), 22:00

WHT - Walter Sobba (penalty kick), 40:00

COL - Garate (Jakob Grein), 40:00

COL - Skinner (unassisted), 48:00

WHT - Sobba (penalty kick), 53:00

WHT - Ling (Taisuke Matsuo), 68:00

COL - Jakob Grein (Tristan Grein), 72:00

Shots on goal - Whitefish 13, Columbia Falls 15. Saves - Whitefish 9 (Marty Anderson), Columbia Falls 9 (Brandon Karberg). Corner kicks - Whitefish 3, Columbia Falls 3. Fouls - Whitefish 5, Columbia Falls 12. Cards - none.