Bulldogs sink the Pirates

By DAVID ERICKSON

Whitefish Pilot

The offensive juggernaut that is the Whitefish boys soccer team kept rolling Tuesday night under the lights at Memorial Field. The Bulldogs scored three goals in the first 14 minutes en route to a 6-0 shutout.

The win makes 23 straight for Whitefish, who stand at 5-0 in Northern Class A soccer and 8-0 on the season.

Six minutes into the game, before the Polson defenders realized what they had gotten into, Matt Grindrod sent a beautiful cross in front of the net, and Preston Taylor only needed one touch to drill the ball past three Pirate defenders. Taylor would end up with two goals on the night, while Magstadt had four.

“This is some of the best soccer the Whitefish Bulldogs have ever played,” said head coach O’Brien Byrd. “Shane Widdifield terrorized Polson, Jonas Magstadt leads the state in scoring, and Alex Konopatzke is a box-to-box player. We have a tremenous amount of skill, we’re playing fast and we’re aggressive.”

Polson created several scoring opportunities with their counterattack, but they were frustrated every time.

“We need to be more disciplined in the final third,” Byrd said.

Whitefish kept Polson goalkeeper Jacob Browne busy, as he had 17 saves on the night. The ‘Dogs out-shot Polson 11-4.

Polson 0 0 — 0

Whitefish 5 1 — 6

WHITEFISH — Preston Taylor (Matt Grindrod), 6:00; Jonas Magstadt (Taylor), 7:00; Magstadt (Shane Widdifield), 14:00; Taylor (Alex Konopatzke), 20:00; Magstadt (Konopatzke), 35:00; Magstadt (Taylor), 70:00

Shots on goal — Pol. 4, WF 11

Corner kicks — Pol. 1, WF 10

Goalie saves — WF 3 (Joe Galbraith)

Fouls — Pol. 11, WF 14

Cards — Pol. 0, WF 1 (yellow)

The Lady Bulldogs battled the Lady Pirates on Tuesday night, and the game was scoreless for 60 minutes before the Whitefish girls began taking chances on shots.

Instead of waiting for breakaways, balls began flying in from beyond the goalie box.

Junior Madison Ruskit was the first one to benefit from the stepped-up attack. She took a beautiful drop from Teal Gayner in the 60th minute, and blasted it between the diving Polson goalkeeper and the near post.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking,” said head coach Lini Reading. “To be under the lights with the homecoming crowd and go 60 minutes without scoring a goal, we were on the sideines going, ‘Who’s going to step up and get a goal for us?’”

Carly Lengstorf was all over the place, but she failed to capitalize on several golden opportunites within the keeper’s area.

“She won balls all over the field,” Reading said. “She has been a good finisher, but she missed several chances.”

The Lady Bulldog defense limited Polson to just three shots on goal to Whitefish’s 28, and Kylee Smith added another powerful scoring shot in the 77th minute.

“The intensity was good, and it was a nice possession game, but we struggled in the first half using the whole field,” Reading said. “Homecoming is always fun. It was nice to get the win, especially a conference game and coming off the bad day we had on Saturday.”

The win moves Whitefish to 4-1 in conference action and 4-3 overall. The boys and girls teams travel to Bigfork on Thursday, then host Stevensville on Sept. 29.

Polson 0 0 — 0

Whitefish 0 2 — 2

WHITEFISH — Madison Ruskit (Teal Gayner), 60:00; Kylee Smith (Kaitlyn Sleichter and Gayner), 78:00

Shots on goal — Pol. 3, WF 28

Corner kicks — Pol. 0, WF 6

Goalie saves — Pol. 21 (Merilee Mowbray), WF 2 (Mariah Driscoll)

Fouls — Pol. 3, WF 3

Cards — None