Lady Dogs end season battling Laurel

The Lady Dogs defense only conceded a single goal Saturday in their playoff matchup against Laurel, but that proved to be enough.

Whitefish fell 1-0 to the Locomotives to put an end to another strong season of soccer.

Neither team was able to get a goal in a tightly-contest first half, but Laurel’s Gracey Willis managed to net one early in the second half to get ahead.

Laurel had 15 shots on goal compared to Whitefish’s five, as well as eight corner kicks.

“It was a tough one,” head coach Roland Benedict said. “I think we played well, it was just tough to get anything going.”

Benedict said field conditions made things difficult for his team on Saturday.

Playing on an artificial turf field combined with a strong wind forced the Lady Dogs out of their offensive comfort zone, he said.

“They’re the only team that has a turf soccer field, so the ball rolls a lot faster, a pass that usually holds up in the grass won’t. Then combine that with a wind of about 20 miles-per-hour that’s blowing perfectly up and down the field,” Benedict said. “That doesn’t really suit our style, we’re not really a fast, speedy athletic team, we’re a technical, work-the-ball team.”

“We had lots of great opportunities, great passes coming out of the back, but they were just over hit or the ball would just run away,” he added.

Whitefish finishes the season 7-6-0.

After a rough start to the season, Benedict said he was pleased to see how his team improved.

“I’m really happy with the way the girls progressed and moved forward and got results. There was a huge difference from beginning to end, and that’s all you can ask for,” he said.

The team graduates six seniors — Audrey Hyatt, Lexie Carbo, Kellie Brown, Grace Scrafford, Pixie Moore and Emma Binstein — leaving another young group to pick up the reins of Lady Bulldog soccer.

“We’re going to be really young and able to build a good foundation over the next few years to go after some hardware,” Benedict said.

Whitefish 0 0 — 0

Laurel 0 1 — 1

L —Gracey Willis (Maeson Cotter)

Shots on goal — Whitefish 5, Laurel 15; Corner kicks — Whitefish 3, Laurel 8; Goalie saves — Whitefish 11 (Sami Galbraith), Laurel 4 (NA); Fouls — Whitefish 7, Laurel NA; Cards — None.