Cats '100 percent' better

The Columbia Falls boys soccer team is much improved over last year and has just one goal: Make it to the state final in the playoffs, said coach O’Brien Byrd.

Byrd said the improvement has been a step-by-step process, which began last summer, with offseason workouts, camps and spring league play.

“We are a 100 percent better team than last year,” he said. “It’s because of hard work. We’re looking good.”

Byrd said the team has its sights set high.

“Our No. 1 goal is to win the state championship,” he said.

The Wildcats lost just one starter to graduation. They return a host of solid players, including all-state goalie Brandon Karberg. Logan Stephens, who was injured near the end of the season after a collision with an opposing goalie, was a second-team all-conference selection. If Stephens had stayed healthy, the Cats may have made the playoffs last year. As it was, they still had their best season in years, going 4-4 in conference play.

The team has depth this year, with 32 players total — 10 freshmen. That’s eight more players than last year. They also have two foreign exchange students, Jon Sigurdsson of Iceland and Louis Marchand of Switzerland.

Notable return players are Jakob Grein, Tristan Grien, Alex Garate, Paxton Fisher and Dawson Chute.

The team also has five wrestlers on the squad — Mason Fetters, Miguel Garate, Hunter Peterson, Storm Kemppainen and Aiden Role. Peterson was one of the team’s best defenders last year and Garate was solid as well. But the other three are new to the sport — at least at the high school level.

“We want those wrestlers,” Byrd said. “They bring a mental toughness.”

The team opens the season Saturday with a noon game against Stevensville at home.

The team to beat in the conference is Polson, while statewide, Corvallis and Billings East promise to be tough outs.