Sigurdsson ices Stillwater under the lights
Jon Sigurdsson, left, celebrates with teamates and the crowd after scoring the first ever goal under the lights at Flip Darling Field Thursday night.
Jon Sigurdsson on this shot would score the first goal under the lights at Flip Darling Field.
Skylar Chute looks to split the Stillwater defense under the lights at Flip Darling Field.
Jon Sigurdsson with a corner kick under the new lights at Flip Darling Field.
In future years it will be a Columbia Falls trivia question. Which soccer player from Iceland was the first to score a goal under the new lights at Flip Darling Field?
Jon Sigurdsson.
Sigurdsson, a foreign exchange student at Columbia Falls, knocked in the first goal with a flourish late in the first half last Thursday night as the Wildcats downed Stillwater Christian, 4-0.
After he scored he ran back to the cheering crowd and slid in the grass in front of the stands.
“It was amazing,” Sigurdsson said. “The crowd was incredible. Best moment of my career so far. No doubt.”
Boys soccer coach O’Brien Byrd spent the better part of six months lining up donations to make the lights and a new scoreboard possible.
He was able to secure a Flathead Electric Co-op Roundup for Safety grant for four poles and the Co-op also agreed to install them. In addition, electrician KJ Jones donated his time to install the electric wiring. Developer Mick Ruis, owner of the Cedar Creek Lodge and Resort was also a major supporter of the project, donating the lights and a scoreboard at a cost of $45,000. The scoreboard, in turn, advertises the lodge.
Crews worked until 10:30 p.m. the night before installing the lights.
A capacity crowd turned out to watch the game.
“We had to win this game,” Byrd said after the match. “It was an opportunity to establish a legacy with games played under the lights.”
It took awhile for the Cats to get going. Stillwater is a much better team than the score would suggest. Sigurdsson’s goal didn’t come until the 39th minute of the first half.
In the second half, he added another goal for good measure, as did Logan Stephens and freshman Skylar Chute.
On Saturday, the Cats hammered Libby 5-0 at home. Stephens had four goals in the contest, his best game of the season by far. Sigurdsson had one as well. The Cats face Whitefish at home Thursday at 7 p.m. and then travel to Polson Saturday. They lead the North Conference with a 7-1-1 record.
The Whitefish game is Rapids Day. Any kid wearing a Rapids shirt under high school age, gets in free. There will be a youth Rapids exhibition game between the end of the girls game and when warm ups start for the boys at 6 p.m.
Stillwater 0 0 — 0
Columbia Falls 1 3 — 4
CF—Jon Sigurdsson (Tristan Grien), 39’
CF—Sigurdsson (Logan Stephens), 76’
CF—Stephens (Jakob Grein), 78’
CF—Skylar Chute (Sigurdsson), 79’
Shots—SCS 2, CF 11. Saves—SCS 11 (Nicholas Sulzbacher), CF 2 (Brandon Karberg). Corner kicks—SCS 1, CF 9. Fouls—SCS 5, CF 10. Cards—None.
Libby 0 0 — 0
Columbia Falls 3 2 — 5
CF —Jon Sigurdsson (Tristan Grein), 26:00
CF — Logan Stephens (Jakob Grein), 30:00
CF — Stephens (Sigurdsson), 38:00
CF — Stephens (J. Grein), 42:00
CF — Stephens (T. Grein), 76:00
Shots on goal — Libby 2, Columbia Falls 11; Goalie saves — Libby 11 (Ryan Nagle), Columbia Falls 2 (Brandon Karberg); Corner kicks — Libby 1, Columbia Falls 10; Fouls — Libby 2, Columbia Falls 4; Cards — None.