The Libby Loggers boys soccer team battled back from a 3-0 deficit on Tuesday at home against Columbia Falls, but were unable to get over the top, losing 5-3.

The 10-1 Wildcats surged to a 3-0 lead in the first half with Jon Sigurdsson scoring all three goals, but Libby’s Cody Wood scored twice before halftime. His first goal was assisted by Colin Maloney.

Down 3-2 in the second half, Wood scored on a penalty kick early to even things at 3-3.

The Loggers had their chances to go ahead, coach Mark Petersen said.

Instead, Sigurdsson scored his fourth goal at the 74-minute mark to put Columbia Falls ahead for good.

The Wildcats added a goal by Jakob Grein in stoppage time to account for the final tally.

Petersen said his boys played well and could have won the match. He noted that his team gave up early goals in a match earlier this season at Columbia Falls and didn’t come back like they did Tuesday.

Columbia Falls is 7-0 in the conference.

At 2-4 in conference, the Loggers host Polson today and travel to Whitefish on Saturday. Both the Pirates and Bulldogs are 4-3, so Libby needs to win both matches to advance to the state tournament. The top three from the five-team conference advance, and Bigfork doesn’t have a team this year.