Lady Dogs find scoring touch
The Lady Dogs bounced back from a tough season-opening soccer loss by blanking Libby in impressive fashion Thursday in Whitefish.
Whitefish came out blazing and punched in a goal 5 minutes into the match when Haley Nicholson scored on an assist from Julia Houston.
A driving rain made playing conditions slick in the second half, but Whitefish kept the pressure on. All totaled, the Lady Dogs peppered Libby with 32 shots on goal, including a handful of near-misses.
Kellie Brown found the net quickly off an assist from Anna Peterson at 41 minutes. Nicholson capped the scoring in the 76th minute off another Peterson assist.
“We maintained good possession and created a lot of chances,” Whitefish coach Roland Benedict said. “Their keeper made a lot of great saves.”
Whitefish keeper Kess Nelson finished with seven saves to keep the clean sheet.
The Lady Dogs kept rolling at Corvallis on Saturday, posting a 7-2 victory.
A barrage of scoring set the tone early.
Nicholson he hit the net on back-to-back chances to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead at the 22-minute mark.
Corvallis’ Corinne Sanderson fired back to make it 2-1 a minute later.
But Whitefish’s Julia Houston answered immediately with a goal of her own off a Nicholson assist in the 24th minute.
Nicholson finished her hat trick with a goal to open the second half, assisted by Houston.
Melissa Pollard added a pair of scores to cap the scoring.
“It was pretty magical,” Benedict said. “We didn’t let them out of their own half and played some beautiful soccer. It was beautiful to watch.”
Whitefish 3 4 — 7
Corvallis 1 1 — 2
Whitefish — Haley Nicholson, 20:00
Whitefish — Nicholson (Kess Nelson), 22:00
Corvallis — Corinne Sanderson, 23:00
Whitefish — Julia Houston (Nicholson), 24:00
Whitefish — Nicholson (Houston), 46:00
Corvallis — Sanderson, 51:00
Whitefish — Melissa Pollard (Nicholson), 53:00
Whitefish — Melissa Pollard (Nicholson), 72:00
Whitefish — Nicholson, 80:00
Shots on goal — Whitefish 27, Corvallis 11; Goalie saves — Whitefish 9, Corvallis 20; Corner kicks — NA; Fouls— Whitefish 10, Corvallis 5; Cards— None.
Libby 0 0 — 0
Whitefish 1 2 — 3
Whitefish — Haley Nicholson (Julia Houston), 5:00
Whitefish — Kellie Brown (Anna Peterson), 41:00
Whitefish — Nicholson (Peterson), 76:00
Shots on goal — Libby 4, Whitefish 32; Goalie saves — Libby 14 (Shannon Reny), Whitefish 7 (Kess Nelson); Corner kicks — Libby 3, Whitefish 4; Fouls — Libby 3, Whitefish 9; Cards — None.