Lady Bulldogs start off hot

It’s been a fast start for the Lady Bulldogs (3-0) this season.

In their first game against Bigfork last Tuesday, senior Haley Nicholson recorded a hat trick, and Whitefish won 4-1. On Friday, Nicholson tallied the lone goal to beat Belgrade on a free kick in the 36th minute, and on Saturday the Lady Bulldogs fired off seven goals to shut out Livingston, five of which also came from Nicholson.

The Lady Bulldogs have scored 12 goals while only allowing one score against, and head coach Roland Benedict said defense has been the sole focus in practice so far. He’s been happy with what he’s seen.

“Our defensive shape has gotten a lot better. We’re more disciplined in our roles and responsibilities than we have been, and that’s going to be a big factor for us this year,” he said. “We haven’t even worked on scoring yet. It’s about defending, but it’s been good to see goals go in.”

Nicholson leads the team with nine goals and three assists. Melissa Pollard has two goals and Julia Houston added a goal on Saturday. Last year Nicholson racked up 31 goals and 11 assists and led Montana A soccer with 73 total points. Benedict said he and Nicholson sat down early in the season and defined a few personal scoring goals for her senior season.

“She’s a flat out goal scorer. It’s going to be fun to watch her play as a senior and see what she can do,” he said.

The team travels to Laurel on Friday and Billings Central on Saturday. Benedict said he looks forward to seeing how the Bulldogs stack up against last year’s state title teams. Whitefish fell to Billings Central in the state semi-final game last season before losing to champion Laurel in the final. Both teams are 3-1 so far this season.

“It’s a good barometer for us and what we need to work on for the rest of the season,” he said. “All across the board it’s coming together.”