Lady Bulldogs kick off the season with a win, loss

The Whitefish High School girls soccer team, the defending Class A state champions, traveled to Billings to begin the season and came home with a 2-0 win over Lockwood. 

In her first season with the Lady Bulldogs, Coach Kelly Ordway said it was a great start to the new season and the team was able to work out some early season nerves. 

Whitefish scored both goals in the first half. Just eight minutes into the game, senior Sadie Olson scored off a corner kick with a deflection off a defender. In the 38th minute, freshman Delaney Smith put the second Whitefish goal in the net. 

“Delaney Smith had impressive composure on a breakaway for an unassisted goal,” Ordway said. “The team connected well with a wide diversity of players getting playing time.” 

Later in the match, a blistering direct free kick from senior Madison Gordon just missed and hit the crossbar. 

The team had more trouble with Billings Central High School on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost 7-0 in their second outing. 

Ordway said the team was caught off guard when Billings Central scored early in the game. Although the Bulldogs made some defensive adjustments, they struggled to overcome the 5-0 deficit they found themselves in at the half. 

“We reset mentally at halftime and distinctively improved our play,” Ordway said. “A defensive error led to an own goal and [Billings] scored a great goal at a very tight angle.” 

Ordway said junior Macie Schmidt supplied reliable defense and sophomore Mahalia Horton helped connect the midfield to the attack. The coach added that senior Jackie Solem stood out as a goalkeeper.  

“Learned lots of great lessons to carry forward into the season,” Ordway said. 

The team’s next game is Tuesday, Sept. 3, when they meet Stevensville at home. The public is welcome to cheer for the Lady Bulldogs at Smith Fields at 3 p.m.