When it counted the most, Joey Thiel was right on the money.

The Flathead sophomore midfielder/forward had gone 12 regular-season matches without scoring in her first varsity season. But that drought finally ended nine minutes into Thursday's big Western AA play-in contest at Kidsports Complex.

Thiel pushed a low-hard shot past Glacier keeper Shaniya Carey and into the net, putting Flathead on top 1-0.

Flathead (7-1-5) added another goal later in the first half as the Bravettes went on to punch their ticket to the AA state tournament next week in Helena with a 2-0 victory over Glacier (0-11-2).

"My very first one," was Thiel's happy reply after the match.

"Calm down, get a good touch on the ball and a good shot," she said of what she was thinking as she broke loose and headed for the net.

"When I saw it go in, I was in shock. When everybody came up to (congratulate) me, it felt good."

Flathead coach Scott Warnell, however, was not "shocked" Thiel put Flathead up early.

"She's had opportunities this year," he said.

"She's done a good job of taking what we're doing in practice and applying that."

"It does (take the pressure off)," Warnell said of scoring early.

"I wanted to make sure we got the first goal today. I didn't want Glacier to get any momentum . Our goal was to score early. It really helped settle the team down when we got the first one."

While Thiel's goal took some of the pressure off the Bravettes, Marti Penrod's high arching-shot over the hands of a stretching Carey gave Flathead a 2-0 edge with seven minutes left in the half.

Flathead could now play a little more relaxed from that point on.

"Emotions are always very high (when we play Glacier) and we knew they would come out and play hard like they always do," Warnell said.

"(Glacier coach) Paul (Holmgren) always does a good job getting his team prepared to play Flathead."

Thiel said the Bravettes stayed focused and determined throughout play.

"Even though we had two goals, they can still turn it around," she said.

"It was a little less stressful, but we still had to act as if it was zero-zero."

Flathead keeper Payton Pietron had another outstanding match guarding the net. The 5-foot-9 junior made two solid stops on hard Glacier shots in the first half.

She finished with four saves for the match.

"A great year for her and the defense," said Warnell.

"We're playing well defensively. Our offense is starting to come around."

The shutout for Pietron and the Bravettes defense was the ninth of the season. That combination has allowed just four goals in 13 matches.

Flathead will now face Bozeman on Thursday in opening-round play at state. In Warnell's eight years as head coach, he has never played Bozeman. Bozeman won its play-in match, 7-0.

The Bravettes are advancing to state for a second-straight year, and the sixth time out of the last eight.

"We had a couple of chances," Glacier coach Paul Holmgren said.

"If we could have got one in there, it would have got us going again."

Holmgren said giving up the early goal hurt.

"We came out hard, fired up," he said.

"They got that one in, it took us back a little bit.

"Up to that point, we were in there. If we could have snuck one in early, the first few minutes, it would have stayed with us. It would have been a different ballgame."

Holmgren, like he has been all season, was pleased with his team's effort.

"They played hard until the final whistle," he said.

"They can keep their heads up.

"The final score is not what we wanted it to be. They never quit, they have a lot to be proud of.

"Flathead has a great team. I wish them the best of luck at state. I hope they do well."

Flathead won two of its three meetings with Glacier this fall. The other ended in a 1-1 tie.

The Bravettes now lead the series 8-1-3.

Glacier 0 0 - 0

Flathead 2 0 - 2

FLATHEAD - Joey Thiel (Kimi Lyford), 9:00; Marti Penrod, 33:00

Shots on goal - Glacier 9, Flathead 18

Corner kicks - Glacier 3, Flathead 2

Goalie saves - Glacier 10 (Shaniya Carey 10, Taylor Anderson), Flathead 4 (Payton Pietron)

Fouls - Glacier 9, Flathead 15

Cards - Glacier, 1 yellow