Lady Dogs find net in conference matches to earn wins

Scoring has been a focus for the Lady Dogs in recent weeks, which showed during an 8-2 blowout of Polson on Saturday.

Six different players scored for Whitefish, and Saylor Schlauch recorded a hat trick with goals in the 10th, 21st and 59th minutes.

Ali Hirsch, Taylor Gentry, Olivia Potthoff, Josephine Brown and Anna Cook all added to the scoring for Whitefish.

Potthoff and Cook both recorded a pair of assists as well, while keeper Sami Galbraith kept things under control at the net with five saves.

Polson’s Sophia Moderie and Ashlee Howell both scored in the match.

Last Tuesday they also took down the Lady Loggers 7-2 in their homecoming game.

Head coach Roland Benedict said he’s seeing hard work pay off for his players.

“We’re really turning the corner. Early on in the year, even though we were losing we were working on certain parts of our system and our team shape. We’re more well-rounded defensively now, but the real turning point is in our attacking play,” Benedict said. “A lot of teams attack certain ways, maybe through one player or their wide player or through a central area. We’re really diverse, we have a great group of talent and if you stop one player, we have two other ways to hurt you.”

This week the Lady Dogs will get their second looks at a pair of Northwest A conference opponents.

On Thursday they’ll host the Columbia Falls Wildkats at 3 p.m. Then on Saturday they’ll travel to Libby for another showdown with the Lady Loggers.

Going into the second round of conference play, Benedict said the goal is to keep with what’s working.

“I think for us it’s about continuing our attacking momentum. Especially with Columbia Falls, we know how they’re going to attack with Josie Windauer. She can create a lot of looks on her own. She’s just a handful, she’s one of the toughest players for us to play against.”

Whitefish 4 4 – 8

Polson 1 1 – 2

W – Saylor Schlauch (Thea Vrentas), 10:00

P – Sophia Moderie, 14:00

W – Schlauch (Anna Cook), 21:00

W – Ali Hirsch (Grace Benkelman), 36:00

W – Taylor Gentry (Olivia Potthoff), 37:00

P – Ashlee Howell (Lilly Armstrong), 51:00

W – Potthoff (Cook), 54:00

W – Josephine Brown (Benkelman), 59:00

W – Schlauch (Potthoff), 59:00

W – Cook (Hirsch), 78:00

Shots on goal – Whitefish 36, Polson 9; Corner kicks – Whitefish 2, Polson 2; Keeper saves – Whitefish 5 (Sami Galbraith), Polson 11 (Megan Rost); Fouls – N/A.