Bulldogs draw tough first-round playoff match with Laurel
Whitefish's Isabelle Cooke takes a shot on goal during a game against Polson on Thursday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Bulldog senior Maddie Muhlfeld takes the ball down the field during a game against Polson on Thursday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish's Delaney Smith cuts the ball back toward goal during a game against Polson on Thursday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
After finishing the season with a 3-0 win over Polson on Thursday, the Whitefish girls soccer team secured the top spot in the Northern A conference heading into the postseason.
Whitefish with a record of 10-1-1 is seeded No. 1 out of the North and will play the No. 2 seed of the Eastern A conference, Laurel, in the first round of the Montana State A playoffs on Saturday.
Laurel has been a top team in Class A for many years and has won four state championships in the last five years, making them a tough draw for Whitefish. In 2020, the Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Laurel in the State A championship game.
Laurel also boasts a 10-1-1 record this season and the teams have not yet faced each other this year. Whitefish has scored 58 total goals this year with only 11 scored against, making a plus-47 goal differential. Whitefish junior Olivia Genovese is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 20 goals.
For Laurel, the Locomotives have scored 57 total goals and have a plus-40 goal differential. Laurel’s Mya Maack is the leading scorer in Class A with 25 goals and 13 assists recorded in the regular season.
The Whitefish girls finished a fantastic regular season last week. The Lady Bulldogs’ second-half surge of goals against Polson secured a 3-0 win in their final game of the regular season which was also Senior Night.
In the game Charlotte Perkins finally broke through and scored in the 65th minute, followed shortly thereafter by Maya Lacey who scored in the 76th minute. Polson had an own goal with pressure from Whitefish’s Signe Ebbett in the 78th minute.
The Bulldogs crashed the net all evening against the Pirates with 33 shots, but the shots weren’t making it into the net throughout most of the game; Brooke Roberts had a shot in the first half that ricocheted off the post, exemplifying the frustration. The game was the last of four games played within nine days to finish out the season.
Earlier in the week on Tuesday, Whitefish suffered its first loss of the season with a 4-1 loss to Bigfork. Bulldog Isabelle Cooke was the only Whitefish player to score. Full stats were not available from the game.
Whitefish heads into the playoffs now with a home match against Laurel on Saturday. Kickoff is 11 a.m. and the community is encouraged to come out and support the Bulldogs.
Whitefish 3, Polson 0
Polson 0 0 - 0
Whitefish 0 3 - 0
W — Charlotte Perkins (Olivia Genovese), 65:00
W — Maya Lacey, 76:00
W — Polson own goal (Signe Ebbett), 78:00
Shots on goal — Polson 9, Whitefish 33. Fouls — Polson 5, Whitefish 8. Saves — Polson 15, Whitefish 5. Corner kicks — Polson 1, Whitefish 7.
