Bulldogs storm through first-round playoff game with Corvallis

It took the Bulldogs a few minutes to settle into their first-round playoff game on Saturday at Smith Fields, but once they did Corvallis had little chance of knocking off the top-ranked Whitefish team.

Three first-half goals gave Whitefish a strong lead heading into halftime and the Bulldogs added a couple more to secure the 5-1 victory.

“That was the second time we had Corvallis, so they changed some things up from the first match,” Bulldog soccer coach John Lacey said. “It took us a little bit to see and adjust based on those things, but when the guys figured it out we ended up getting goals. I loved the defensive effort, it was an unfortunate set-piece goal but in general we’re shutting down stuff through the run of play and that’s where we need to be.”

In the 15th minute Whitefish sophomore Collin Lyman netted a beauty in front of the net off a precise pass from senior Gabe Menicke. The Class A leading goal scorer, Menicke, then drilled one of his own in the 32nd minute.

Just before the end of the first half sophomore Jackson Dorvall also scored putting the Bulldogs up 3-0.

Early in the second half Whitefish senior Chase Sabin scored and then Menicke assisted Lyman again for another goal. Corvallis’ Ian Wilson scored off a set piece in the 55th minute, but the Blue Devils didn’t have many opportunities other than that.

Whitefish was able to get several underclassmen valuable playoff-game minutes and Lacey was impressed with the all around team effort. He said the younger players are valuable to the future of the program and they shined when given the opportunity.

“We’re fortunate to have the depth that we do, but those younger guys are by no means inexperienced soccer players,” Lacey said. “A lot of them have played at very high levels for a long time, so we count on them with the high school team. It’s fun to see them step forward.”

“This is a program where people come in with expectations, there’s a period for spending time in the group and eventually it’s your time — when it’s your time you embrace it,” he added.

Whitefish had nine shots on goal to Corvallis’ four, the Bulldogs also had eight corners as the ball was mostly in their attacking half.

Whitefish remains undefeated at 13-0 and its hopes for a fourth-straight State A title are still alive. The Bulldogs will have to take on Park in the Class A soccer semifinal match in order to bring back the state championship game to Whitefish.

Whitefish played Park in Livingston once already this season and the match was one of Whitefish’s toughest games of the season.

In the earlier matchup, Park came out right away and scored in the 5th minute, the two teams took a 2-2 draw into halftime and then in the 62nd minute Park went up a goal again. Whitefish hung in the game and, led by their seniors, scored two more goals near the end to lift the Bulldogs 4-3 over Livingston.

“We want to play a certain way, and we want to be hard to play against, that’s always our mentality,” Lacey said. “It will certainly help us to have been on that field, to have seen them already, to know that they can put us in a hole — we had to come back twice in that game — so I guarantee that no one on our squad is taking them lightly.”

The Bulldogs will travel to Livingston on Saturday to face the Rangers. Game time is 11 a.m.

Corvallis 0 1 — 1

Whitefish 3 2 — 5

WF — Collin Lyman (Gabe Menicke) 15:00

WF — Menicke (Chase Sabin) 32:00

WF — Jackson Dorvall (Darby McCarthy) 40:00

WF — Sabin 44:00

WF — Lyman (Menicke) 48:00

C — Ian Wilson 55:00

Shots — Corvallis 4, WF 9. Goalie saves — Corvallis 4, WF 3 (Will Peppmeier, Ethan Schott). Corner kicks — Corvallis 1, WF 8. Fouls — Corvallis 6, WF 12. Cards — WF 2.