Boys soccer drops Lone Peak

One down, two to go. The Columbia Falls boys soccer team dropped Lone Peak 3-0 on the road in to open the state A playoffs Saturday.

The Wildcats opened the scoring with a goal by Fin Sunberg at the 29 minute mark on an assist by Kai Golan. Golan then knocked in a goal in the second half on a feed by Dale Blickhan to make it 2-0 with 30 minutes to play.

Otto Anderson, who was pulled up from junior varsity, then dropped in a feed from Walt Nichols to cinch the win with four minutes left.

The Wildcats travel to Missoula to face Loyola in the semis on Saturday. If they win that game, in all likelihood they’ll face Whitefish yet again in the state A championship.

Coach O’Brien Byrd was pleased with the way the team played against Lone Peak, a team they tied earlier this season.

“We were just dominant in every aspect of the game,” he said.

Byrd gave kudos to his back defense of Andrew Miner and Nico Lang. Bryce Dunham had a solid afternoon with six saves.

He said Lone Peak played a direct brand of soccer they hadn’t seen before this season.

“We had to really adjust,” he said.

Byrd was also happy for Anderson, a freshman.

“We put him in there to make a difference and he did,” Byrd said. “Their back line was really solid. For a frosh to score goal No. 3 was really special.”

Loyola beat Bigfork 1-0 to advance to the semis.