Girls soccer team hit hard by tough opponents

Bigfork’s girls soccer team opened its season Tuesday, Aug. 30, and it’s been a rough road since.

The Vals hosted Columbia Falls for their season opener, which they lost 8-0.

“Overall not our best opener, but we did some good things on the field, and I was really proud of how hard the veterans played, and I think that the new girls are really starting to understand the game,” said Bigfork head girls soccer coach Charlie Appleby. “With 10 new players it takes time to get as good as Columbia Falls, and we have some things to work on, but we’ll get there. I saw some serious potential. The coaches just have to get together and work some things out.”

In the game with Columbia Falls, the Wildkats took 26 shots on the goal while Bigfork did not take any. Bigfork’s first-year goalkeeper Jazzmyn Musser was credited with nine saves.

Three days later, the Bigfork girls boarded a bus to Laurel where they met another tough opponent and lost that match 6-0.

In addition to coping with an early morning and a long bus ride, the Vals were missing multiple players, who were out of town for the three-day weekend or ineligible to play due to not having enough practices in. Then senior Sara Keenan suffered a concussion, and the team was playing with just 14 girls.

“It was really good for most of the girls to get to play nearly the entire game, so there were a lot of good things that came out of that game, but overall we didn’t play well,” Appleby said. “We came out flat, we played slow and we just didn’t seem to play like a team. It seemed like everyone was trying to figure out where they were supposed to play and focusing on their one position rather than playing the whole field.”

The following day, Saturday, the Vals traveled to Billings to take on defending state champions Billings Central. Bigfork dropped that game 6-0 as well, but their performance was much better than the previous day, according to their coach.

“The girls were on their toes. They played with so much more intensity, and the girls in the midfield were coming back and helping the girls out on defense and they were dribbling the ball better,” Appleby said. “It all just seemed to come together much better on Saturday. Everyone seemed to understand what they were supposed to be doing better, and it really showed.”

The Vals again did not take any shots on their opponent’s goal. Billings led 5-0 at the half.

Musser, however, did well in her role in the goal for Bigfork. She made 14 saves.

“I think she’s doing great,” Appleby said of Musser. “She saved a couple of really tough shots this weekend. She had a great stop on a tough shot in Laurel, and then you see little mistakes like not being aggressive enough and letting them get too close and take shots. They’re all coachable things that are mistakes you expect in a new keeper. She’s going to be terrific by the end of the season.”

Although the scoreboard didn’t show it, Appleby said he saw improvements, which has also helped his team’s morale.

“It was the same result, but the girls played so much better, and they knew they played so much better,” Appleby said. “You could see it on their faces that they felt better about how they played, and that made me happy. It’s important too, because we have another game on Tuesday and another on Thursday. It’s a steep learning curve so it needs to happen now.”

The Valkyries’ jam-packed week included a home nonconference game Tuesday night against Stillwater Christian.

Next the Vals travel to Whitefish on Thursday for a conference game.

“Unfortunately, we have two games this week and only one day of practice, so there’s no time to work,” said Appleby. “I’m really disappointed in the schedule, and I think that it hurts Bigfork every year, and I think it’s borderline dangerous. It’s gotten significantly worse every year I’ve coached. They just keep adding things to the beginning of the schedule every year, and it’s getting ridiculous.”

By the end of this week, Appleby said his team will have five games under its belt and only two real practices since its first game. He said the scenario makes it tough for him to work with his team, which is largely made up of new players, as they prepare for teams like Whitefish on Thursday.

“Whitefish is going to be a contender this year,” Appleby said. “They look really good. When you play good teams, they make you better though.”

Following Thursday’s game in Whitefish, Bigfork does not have another game until the following Friday in Columbia Falls.