Girls soccer 2-1 on the road
Whitefish’s girls soccer team remains in the top tier of the competitive Northwest A standings after a busy week on the road.
The Lady Bulldogs (6-3-0, 3-2-0) picked up conference victories at Bigfork and Libby before dropping a thriller at Columbia Falls on Saturday.
Whitefish took care of business Sept. 22 in a 6-0 shutout at Bigfork.
Anna Peterson scored quickly after the opening whistle and Katie Blankenship added another just before the half to give Whitefish a 2-0 lead.
Julia Houston tacked on a goal and Haley Nicholson went for a hat trick in the second half to bury Bigfork.
Goals came from four different girls in the 6-1 victory Thursday at Libby.
Blankenship and Houston each tallied in the first half to give the Lady Dogs a 2-1 advantage.
Audrey Hyatt scored on back-to-back chances to widen the margin, and Nicholson hit the net twice to cap the rout.
At Columbia Falls, Whitefish let a flurry of late chances go untapped as the Wildkats escaped with a 2-1 victory.
Trailing 2-0 late in the second half, Haley Nicholson scored on a beautiful direct kick that sailed over the keeper’s reach into the right corner of the net.
Nicholson had another direct-kick chance in the waning minutes that nearly tied the match. Her shot ricocheted off the Kats keeper into the waiting feet of two Bulldogs charging the net. Their shot attempts were stonewalled in the scrum and time ran out on Whitefish a few ticks later.
Nicholson leads the state in scoring so far this season with 20 goals.
Whitefish is back in action Thursday at Polson at 5 p.m.
Whitefish 0 1 — 1
Columbia Falls 0 2 — 2
COL — Ellie Johnson (Tavia Bechtel), 73:00
COL — Johnson (Natasha Martin), 76:00
WHT — Haley Nicholson (direct kick), 78:00
Shots on goal — Whitefish 7, Columbia Falls 11. Saves — Whitefish 9 (Kess Nelson), Columbia Falls 6 (Allyson Gimbel). Corner kicks — Whitefish 2, Columbia Falls 7. Fouls — Whitefish 11, Columbia Falls 15. Cards — none.
Whitefish 2 4 — 6
Libby 1 0 — 1
WF — Katie Blankenship (Nikita Packard), 26:00
WF — Julia Houston (Haley Nicholson), 27:00
L — Allie Coldwell (Anna Carlson), 30:00
WF — Audrey Hyatt (Melissa Pollard), 66:00
WF — Hyatt (Pollard), 68:00
WF — Nicholson (Pollard), 72:00
WF — Nicholson (Pixie Moore), 79:00
Shots on goal - NA; Goalie saves – Whitefish 4 (Kess Nelson), Libby 13 (Shannon Renny). Corner kicks – Whitefish 5, Libby 5. Fouls - NA. Cards - NA.
Whitefish 2 4 — 6
Bigfork 0 0 — 0
W— Anna Peterson (Katie Blankenship), 5’
W— Blankenship, 39’
W— Haley Nicholson (Melissa Pollard), 46’
W— Julia Houston (Nicholson), 57’
W— Nicholson, 67’
W— Nicholson (Kess Nelson), 77’
Shots on Goal— Whitefish 8, Bigfork 6. Keeper Saves— Whitefish 6 (Kess Nelson), Bigfork 4 (Celeste Rehbein). Corner kicks—Whitefish 4, Bigfork 2. Fouls—Whitefish 9, Bigfork 6. Cards— Yellow, Bigfork 1.