Boys soccer falls at Columbia Falls
Whitefish’s boys soccer team finally found some offense Saturday, but four goals weren’t enough to keep pace at rival Columbia Falls in a high-scoring Northwest A match.
With the 6-4 loss, the Bulldogs (1-7-1, 0-4-1) continue to search for their first conference victory.
Saturday’s defeat came against a familiar face with former Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd now leading the Wildcats soccer program, his alma mater. It was the first time in a decade that Columbia Falls outright beat Whitefish — they tied two seasons ago.
The spirited match started with a pair quick Wildcat goals on break-away opportunities in the first five minutes.
Whitefish freshman Xander Burger responded with a silky scoring strike of his own in the 7th minute. Fed by a pass from Casey Ling, Burger fired his shot from the right flank of the pitch.
The Cats hit again in the 22nd minute to double up the score at 4-2.
A foul in the penalty box set up a PK for senior Walter Sobba in the 40th minute, but the Dogs defense let Columbia Falls sneak in a late goal just before the half to kill the momentum.
Trail late in the second half, the Dogs were able to close the margin to 6-5 on another penalty kick from Sobba and a goal from Ling in the 68th minute.
The Cats put it out of reach in the 72nd minute with the game’s final score.
Whitefish dropped a pair of close conference matches earlier in the week, losing 3-0 at Libby and 2-1 at Bigfork.
Sobba scored the Dogs lone goal against the Vikings on a penalty kick. He now has five goals on the season to lead the team.
Whitefish is back in action Thursday at Polson at 7 p.m.
Whitefish 2 2 — 4
Columbia Falls 4 2 — 6
COL — Daniel Skinner (Logan Stephens), 1:00
COL — Stephens (unassisted), 5:00
WHT — Xander Burger (Casey Ling), 7:00
COL — Alex Garate (Skinner), 22:00
WHT — Walter Sobba (penalty kick), 40:00
COL — Garate (Jakob Grein), 40:00
COL — Skinner (unassisted), 48:00
WHT — Sobba (penalty kick), 53:00
WHT — Ling (Taisuke Matsuo), 68:00
COL — Jakob Grein (Tristan Grein), 72:00
Shots on goal — Whitefish 13, Columbia Falls 15. Saves — Whitefish 9 (Marty Anderson), Columbia Falls 9 (Brandon Karberg). Corner kicks — Whitefish 3, Columbia Falls 3. Fouls — Whitefish 5, Columbia Falls 12. Cards — none.
Whitefish 0 0 — 0
Libby 2 1 — 3
L - Cody Wood, 14:00
L - Andrew Freese, 31:00
L - Colin Maloney, 75:00
Shots on goal – Whitefish 5, Libby 13. Goalie saves – Whitefish 11 (Marty Anderson), Libby 3 (Zander Peterson). Corner kicks – Whitefish 4, Libby 5. Fouls – Whitfish 6, Libby 7. Cards – None.
Whitefish 1 0 — 1
Bigfork 1 1 — 2
W— Walter Sobba (penalty kick), 12’
B— Christian Bencomo, 36’
B— Kalvin Eaton, 41’
Shots on Goal—Whitefish 15. Bigfork 7. Keeper saves—Whitefish 5 (Marty Anderson), Bigfork 14 (Ben Russell). Corner kicks—Whitefish 13, Bigfork 5. Fouls—Whitefish 10, Bigfork 10. Cards— Yellow, Bigfork 1.