Bulldog coach marks 100th victory

Whitefish head coach Lini Reading marked her 100th win as a Bulldog during their 2-1 Homecoming victory over the Columbia Falls Wildkats on Tuesday night.

Playing under the stadium lights and a full house at Memorial Field, the atmosphere on the stands and in the field was tense throughout the game.

The Wildkats dominated the last five minutes of the match, pounding Bulldog goalkeeper Kirstin NallyMadigan with unrelenting shots, much to the fear of Bulldog fans and to the anticipation of Wildkats fans. In the last 10 minutes, NallyMadigan disrupted shot after shot, which included a free kick from outside the box and an attempt coming off a Wildkat break-away.

"She saved the game for us in in the end," Reading said. "Both keepers deserve a big round of applause."

NallyMadigan posted eight saves on the game, and backup goalkeeper Haley Gilman was tested with seven shots, letting through a sole low-ground shot to the corner of the net by Class A scoring leader Lisa Carter, who has scored 20 goals and marked two assists this year for the Wildkats.

With the score 1-0 after a goal by Whitefish's Mariah Driscoll, assisted by Kelsey McCluskey, Carter evened the match with an unassisted shot into the goal. Columbia Falls continued to test Whitefish, dominating shots on goal with 17 to Whitefish's 11, but Jen Journ sealed the Homecoming victory with an unassisted goal in the 53rd minute.

Last year, the Bulldogs lost 1-0 to the Kats, who went on to win the State Championship. The two teams will meet at least one more time this season.

The Bulldogs rose to 7-1-1 on the season, 4-0 in conference play, while the Wildkats fell to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Bulldogs take on class AA Flathead in Kalispell on Saturday at 6 p.m., while the 'Kats head to Bigfork for a game at 1 p.m.

Last Saturday, the Whitefish girls soccer team defeated Stevensville 2-1 away.