Ladies settle for draw in Libby

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish girls soccer team had to settle for a 1-1 tie with conference foe Libby on Saturday, even though they out shot the Lady Loggers 12-6 in the game.

Libby took a lead into halftime after they scored a header goal on a corner kick just seven minutes into the game.

The Lady Bulldogs could not break the stingy Libby defense for the rest of the half.

After the break, Whitefish senior star Carly Lengstorf took an assist from Kelsey McCluskey and put one in the bucket to tie the game.

"That was just one of those classic goals that we need more of," head coach Lini Reading said of the goal. "We should have been able to win the game. We didn't play poorly, but our brains were tired and our touch was a little tired."

Reading said that because of the homecoming dance the night before, a few players were just emotionally and physically drained, especially playing after a two-hour drive.

"Libby came out and set the tone early, slide-tackling all over the field," Reading said. "That kind of woke us up and snapped us out of it. We are definitely playing good soccer, we were just tired. It was cool to watch the kids kind of figure out what needed to be done by themselves."

Whitefish lost three starting senior captains to injury before and during the game: Meagan Powell, Hannah Long and Kylie Smith. Smith may be done for the season, but Reading is trying to find the bright side.

"We have some very capable kids on the bench that got some playing time," she said. "But it breaks your heart to see a kid lose their senior season."

Libby goalkeeper Christina Schilling had 10 saves for her team, as opposed to two each for Whitefish keepers Callie Marsh and Madisen Cross.

The Lady Bulldogs move to 6-2-1 overall and 4-0-1 in Northwestern A action. They visit Polson on Friday (tomorrow).

The stage is set for Whitefish and Libby to have a showdown at the end of the season, as both teams are undefeated in conference play and play each other in Whitefish in the final league game of the season before the playoffs.

Whitefish 0 1 - 1

Libby 1 0 - 1

Whitefish — Carly Lengstorf (Kelsey McCluskey), 57:00

Libby — Jaime Gildon (Anna Valentine), 7:00

Shots on goal — Whitefish 12, Libby 6

Corner kicks — Whitefish 10, Libby 9

Goalie saves — Whitefish 4 (Madisen Cross 2, Callie Marsh 2), Libby 10 (Christina Schilling)

Fouls — Whitefish 3, Libby 7

Cards — Libby, 2 yellow