Girls advance to semifinals

Wildkat girls soccer secured a quarterfinal victory after a 3-1 triumph over Corvallis on Saturday.

The game started out rough for the Wildkats who couldn’t quite find the back of the net during the first half, whereas the Blue Devils were able to gain one up on them to bring the score 0-1 at halftime.

But the Kats turned up the heat and were able to turn it around in the latter half of the match.

“Honestly, we just came out looking like a different team in the second half,” said coach Thomas Clark. “Huge credit to our girls for the way that they responded. We made a few adjustments at halftime, and after that halftime whistle it was a different game from then on out.”

Kate Hatfield tied the game up in the second half at one apiece.

“Hatfield, who’s a senior that has that experience you’re looking for in the playoffs --she’s been there before, she knows the kind of mental fortitude that these kind of big moments take-- she just had a great shot from distance and put it in a danger area and made it count,” said Clark.

Once Hatfield tied it up, Clark said it started to feel like they’d bring home the result they were looking for, as the Kats’ strongest offensive players began showing up in full force.

Cheyanne Johnston-Heinz, who played a consistently strong game out of the gate, scored the deciding goal with an assist from Hope McAtee.

“Johnston-Heinz played a phenomenal game on Saturday,” said Clark. “[She] was dangerous from the start of the game so it was fitting that she scored the game-winning goal.”

McAtee then brought it home with a final goal on an assist from Maddie Robison to make it 3-1.

The Kats now face Laurel, the reigning state champion, in the semifinals this weekend.

“It’s going to be the toughest game of the season for us,” said Clark. “Laurel’s just a super strong team, they’re very technical, they’re incredibly physical and they play very direct, very offensive soccer. It’s going to be a unique challenge but we’re excited to play in front of our fans and get a chance to play at home.”

Columbia Falls boys and girls soccer will co-host the semifinals games on Saturday, with the girls playing Laurel at 1 p.m. on the Flip Darling Memorial Field.