Whitefish boys undefeated heading into soccer playoffs
The Whitefish boys soccer team celebrates a goal in a match against Columbia Falls. (Avery Howe/Hungry Horse News)
One goal was enough to propel Whitefish to a perfect regular season.
Ryder Elliott scored in the 60th minute to lift the Bulldogs past Polson 1-0 in Northwest A play on Saturday, Oct. 10. Whitefish improved to 11-0 on the season, while Polson fell to 5-6.
Whitefish withstood 14 shots by Polson while notching eight of their own. The Bulldogs also had four corner kicks, compared to the Pirates’ two corner kicks.
While everything was already buttoned up for the Bulldogs after their victory over Columbia Falls, the victory kept the momentum rolling for Whitefish going into the postseason. The first round of the State A playoffs starts this Saturday, with the Northwest top-seed Whitefish hosting Park High of Livingston.
At Polson
WHITEFISH 1, POLSON 0
Whitefish - 0 - 1 - 1
Polson - 0 - 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY
W – Ryder Elliott (pk) 60
GAME STATS
Shots - Whitefish 8, Polson 14; Saves - Whitefish 4 (Ethan Bourque, Charlie Dow), Polson 7 (Maddox Bird); Cornerkicks - Whitefish 4, Polson 2; Fouls - Whitefish 10, Polson 16; Cards - Whitefish 1
Bulldogs clinch conference championship
The Whitefish-Columbia Falls soccer rivalry brings out the best in both teams, and the Bulldogs played in a classic, sweeping the season series against the Wildcats with a 3-1 victory on Thursday, Oct. 6.
The win had postseason implications as the Bulldogs clinched the Northwest A Conference title with a 10-0 record and could play two home playoff games.
After a scoreless first half, Whitefish got on the scoreboard first, and Preston McPherson found the back of the goal on a Ryder Elliot pass. Kyler Jonson followed that up with an unassisted goal in the 45th minute.
Columbia Falls cut the lead to 2-1 in the 60th minute, but 12 minutes later, Sam Dow scored for Whitefish with Elliot’s second assist.
Whitefish outshot Columbia Falls 7-2 and had 11 corner kicks, while Columbia Falls got no such opportunity.
At Whitefish
WHITEFISH 3, COLUMBIA FALLS 1
Columbia Falls - 0 - 1 - 1
Whitefish - 0 - 3 - 3
SCORING SUMMARY
WF — Preston McPherson (Ryder Elliott) 42:00
WF — Kyler Jonson 45:00
CF — River Wolford (Traic Fainter) 60:00
WF — Sam Dow (Elliott) 72:00
GAME STATS
Shots — CF 2, WF 7. Goalie saves — CF 4 (Rafe Rusche), EF 1 (Ethan Bourque). Corner kicks — CF 0, WF 11. Fouls — CF 7, WF 10.