Corvallis clips boys soccer at home
Time ran out on the Whitefish boys soccer team on Friday as a crafty Corvallis team outlasted the Bulldogs in a 4-3 non-conference victory.
Whitefish was forced to play from behind after letting the Blue Devils score two unanswered goals in the first half.
The Dogs came out of the break with fury as Shanoah Montano punched in a goal at the 42-minute mark. Montano juked a defender at the top of the penalty box and buried his shot in the right corner.
Corvallis standout Alejandro Ortiz would answer with goals at 47 minutes and again three minutes later on a beautiful free kick to give the Devils a 4-1 advantage.
Undeterred, Whitefish’s Taven Edland hit the net at 52 minutes off an assist form Jared Johnson to close the gap. Edland scored again in the waning minutes to make it 4-3.
Whitefish had one final chance to knot the score with a corner kick, but the referee called time before the Dogs could get the kick off.
Despite the loss, Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd was satisfied with his team’s effort.
“My team gave 100 percent,” he said. “We don’t want to lose at home, but those guys gave it their all.”
He chalked up the loss to an inability to finish at the net. Whitefish had 16 shots on target in the match.
“Finishing hasn’t been a priority in practice,” Byrd said. “We’ve been working on fundamentals and tactics for three weeks. The lack of finishing showed up.”
“If we score on one of those 16 attempts, it’s a different game.”
The loss dropped Whitefish to 1-1 overall. The Dogs hosted Libby on Tuesday in their conference opener.
Corvallis 2 2 – 4
Whitefish 0 3 – 3
C – C. Ayers (Ladd Grenfell), 4:00
C – Ayers (Emmett Semple), 33:00
W – S. Montano (Edland), 42:00
C – Alejandro Ortiz (Ayers), 47:00
C – Ortiz, 50:00
W – Edland (Jared Johnson), 52:00
W – Edland (Montano), 79:00
Shots on goal – Corvallis 14, Whitefish 20. Saves – Corvallis 13 (Shelby Gifford), Whitefish 6 (Sam Venkelman). Corner kicks – Corvallis 3, Whitefish 4. Total fouls – Corvallis 5, Whitefish 4. Cards – none.