Lady Dogs continue conference win streak
Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot Haley Nicholson tries to shake a defender during Saturday’s 1-0 homecoming win over Polson at Memorial Field.
Whitefish took down Polson (6-2-0) 1-0 in a tight battle between the Northwest A opponents Saturday at Memorial Field.
Both teams were undefeated in conference play coming into Saturday’s match, and a lone goal was the deciding factor.
“A win is a win. We played well, a 1-0 scoreline sounds a lot tighter than the game was,” head coach Roland Benedict said.
Noting a few missed scoring opportunities on offense, Benedict added, “We dug it out and got a 1-0 win, but it could’ve been a lot more.”
Senior Haley Nicholson drove in the day’s only goal in the 58th minute, her 20th of the season. Nicholson now has three straight seasons with at least 20 goals scored.
Polson’s defense focused heavily on stopping Nicholson.
“Polson made it hard for her,” Benedict said. “There’s three players hopefully making sure she doesn’t get the ball, and Haley just made some good, intelligent movements to get herself open and got the ball at her feet and smashed it off the inside of the post.”
Whitefish led Polson in shots on goal eight to seven. Senior goalkeeper Kess Nelson had seven saves for Whitefish.
Benedict said he was impressed by his defense’s performance but the team needs to continue to work on scoring goals as they move toward the end of the season.
Whitefish (7-2-0) travels to Columbia Falls (5-3-0) this week for a rematch of the Lady Dogs’ 3-2 win at home earlier this month.
“It’s not going to be a different game. It’s going to come down to hard work to start and wrestle the momentum away from the home team,” Benedict said.
The game is at 3 p.m. in Columbia Falls on Thursday.
Polson 0 0 — 0
Whitefish 0 1 — 1
WF — Haley Nicholson (Melissa Pollard), 58:00
Shots on goal — Polson 7, Whitefish 8. Saves — Polson 7 (Jenna Evertz), Whitefish 7 (Kess Nelson). Corner kicks — Polson 3, Whitefish 5. Fouls — Polson 5, Whitefish 7. Cards — None.