Boys soccer wins Northwest A title
It’s been a roller-coaster season for the Whitefish boys soccer team. Contenders one week, flat the next.
Yet, after posting an impressive 4-1 win Saturday at rival Columbia Falls, the Bulldogs are headed to the Class A state playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the Northwest A.
It was Libby’s win over Bigfork last week that gave Whitefish (7-3-2) the chance to seal up its fourth consecutive conference title with a win at Columbia Falls.
“I’ve got to be honest — it took some luck,” Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd said of earning the top seed. “Almost always a little luck needs to be involved. We got a golden ticket when Bigfork got beat by Libby.”
Whitefish took little time in cashing in the opportunity at Columbia Falls. A pair of goals in each half gave the Dogs a 4-1 victory.
Casey Ling tallied a hat trick to lead the effort. Ling scored in the 11th minute off an assist from Jared Johnson, then added two more in the second half off assists from Sam Heutmaker.
“Casey is showing the natural instincts of being a scorer,” Byrd said. “He could have had more goals in the game.”
Byrd said Saturday’s win was the result of a hard week of practice.
“It was really a grind,” he said. “We clocked in and there was zero fun to be had at those practices.”
“We put our hard work on display and had a great game at Columbia Falls.”
Whitefish will host No. 3 seed Hamilton on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Smith Fields in the first round of the playoffs. The Dogs topped Hamilton 8-4 earlier this season, but Byrd says nothing that happened in the past matters come playoff time.
“We’re not looking past Hamilton,” Byrd said. “We can’t count on results on paper. We have to show up for every single game.”
Byrd believes strongly his team can make a deep run in these playoffs.
“I think we have something special,” he said. “If they believe in themselves and work hard, no one can beat us — but it’s going to take those two things.”
Libby earned the No. 3 seed and plays at No. 1 seed Corvallis. Bigfork finished at No. 2 and plays the winner of a play-in game between Billings Central and Park High. No. 1 Belgrade and Stevensville meet up in the other first-round playoff match.
Whitefish 2 2 – 4
Col. Falls 1 0 – 1
W – Casey Ling (assist Jared Johnson), 11:00
CF – J.Griene (Jessat), 17:00
W – Johnson (Ling), 35:00
W – Ling (Sam Heutmaker), 47:00
W – Ling (Heutmaker), 65:00
Shots on goal – Whitefish 20, C-Falls 4. Saves – Whitefish 2 (Marty Anderson), C-Falls 15 (Brandon Karberg). Corner kicks – Whitefish 6, C-Falls 3. Total fouls – Whitefish 11, C-Falls 5.