COLUMBIA FALLS — Louis Merchand scored in the 75th minute as Columbia Falls slipped by Polson 2-1 in a Northern A soccer match on Saturday at Flip Darling Field.

Columbia Falls (5-1-1, 2-0) took a quick lead on Auguste Emond’s goal just three minutes into play.

Daniel DiGiallonardo answered for Polson in the 25th minute.

“We knew going into the game it was going to be tight,” Columbia Falls coach O’Brien Byrd said.

“That it could eventually be decided by a corner kick or a set (play).”

The game winner by Merchand was off a corner kick.

“We work on that play all the time,” Bryd said.

The assist went to Jon Sigurdsson.

“Obviously we were the more aggressive, physical team out there,” Byrd said.

“Give credit to the Wildcats. They believed, they wanted it more and went out and got the W.”

Columbia Falls will host Stillwater Christian on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be played under the lights for the first time at Flip Darling Field. Funding for the lighting was made possible by a donation from Mick Ruis, owner of Cedar Creek Lodge in Columbia Falls. He also donated money for the new scoreboard at the field.

Flathead Electric donated poles for the lights.

Byrd said only one other high school, Bozeman, has a lighted field exclusively for soccer.

Polson 1 0 — 1

Columbia Falls 1 1 — 2

CF — Auguste Emond, 3:00

P — Daniel DiGiallonardo, 25:00

CF — Louis Merchand (Jon Sigurdsson), 75:00

Shots on goal — Polson 9, Columbia Falls 11; Goalie saves — Polson (Russell Smith 7), Columbia Falls (Brandon Karberg 4); Corner kicks — Polson 1, Columbia Falls 8; Fouls — Polson 7, Columbia Falls 11; Cards — Polson, 1 red, Columbia Falls, 1 yellow.

Sentinel 3, Glacier 2

Glacier gave up three goals in the first 35 minutes but fought back valiantly, controlling play in the second half before ultimately falling to Missoula Sentinel in a Western AA conference match.

The Wolfpack (2-5-1, 1-4-1 Western AA) concluded the first half of the conference season with the loss. The Spartans won despite Glacier holding an 11-8 lead in shots on goal.

“We haven’t turned in an 80-minute game yet,” Glacier coach Ryan Billiet said. “It’s those 10 minute breakdowns where teams are capitalizing on us.

“There’s a lot to build from. To know that we’re second from last in conference is crazy but we’re going to be looking at this second half as a new season.”

The Spartans scored their three goals 29 minutes apart, with Austin Leadbetter, Dylan Farnes and Jake Larson credited with the scores.

Conner Heil put one away for Glacier in the 38th minute to trim the lead to 3-1 at halftime and Heil scored again in the 72nd minute to draw the Pack within one. Tyler Keller and Rohit Tappeta were credited with assists on Heil’s goals.

“We made some adjustments, some pretty significant adjustments after Thursday night’s loss (2-1 to Flathead) and we felt really good about how the boys looked today,” Billiet said. “I thought we were a little more dangerous in the attack and in back we seemed to settle in.”

Rushton Hicks made nine saves for the Spartans. Andrew Lorenc stopped five shots for Glacier.

Sentinel 3 0 — 3

Glacier 1 1 — 2

SEN — Austin Leadbetter (Hunter Van Cleave), 6:00

SEN — Dylan Farnes (unassisted), 26:00

SEN — Jake Larson (unassisted), 35:00

GLA — Conner Heil (Tyler Keller), 38:00

GLA — Heil (Rohit Tappeta), 72:00

Shots on goal — Sentinel 8, Glacier 11. Saves — Sentinel 9 (Rushton Hicks), Glacier 5 (Andrew Lorenc).

Whitefish 3, Libby 2

LIBBY — Freshman Casey Schneider picked up a loose ball in front of the net and drove home the match-winner in the penultimate minute to give Whitefish a dramatic Northern A conference win.

Schneider finished off a mad scramble with his second goal of the season, capping Whitefish’s best offensive day of the year. Entering the match, the Bulldogs had scored just two goals in 2016.

“We’ve been needing to score goals,” Whitefish coach John Lacey said. “We’ve played some good soccer but we have not been scoring goals. To finally put some in the net, especially in such an exciting way at the end, it’s a good way to head home.”

Whitefish (4-4-0, 3-1-0 Northern A) has two wins by forfeit this season, both over Bigfork.

Libby (2-3-1, 0-2-0) opened the scoring when Cody Wood put away a Giovanni Cano feed in the 12th minute but Whitefish had an answer. Avery Hirsch scored in the 25th minute and Xander Burger found the back of the net in the 32nd to give Whitefish a 2-1 halftime lead.

Bryant Reis tied the game for the Loggers in the 60th minute before Schneider’s 79th-minute winner. Hirsch was credited with an assist on the winning goal.

Whitefish 2 1 — 3

Libby 1 1 — 2

LIB — Cody Wood (Giovanni Cano), 12:00

WF — Avery Hirsch (unassisted), 25:00

WF — Xander Burger (unassisted), 32:00

LIB — Bryant Reis (unassisted), 60:00

WF — Casey Schneider (Hirsch), 79:00

Shots on goal — Whitefish 12, Libby 10. Saves — Whitefish 6 (Marty Anderson), Libby 6 (Ryan Nagle). Corner kicks — Whitefish 3, Libby 2. Fouls — Whitefish 6, Libby 5. Cards — Yellow: Whitefish 1, Libby 1.

GIRLS

Polson 2, Columbia Falls 1

COLUMBIA FALLS — Tiara Duford’s 16th goal of the season, in the 67th minute, gave Polson a crucial come-from-behind Northern A conference win.

The Pirates (5-1-0, 2-0-0 Northern A) won in Columbia Falls for the first time in coach Michael Hewston’s nine seasons at the helm and did so in dramatic fashion, rallying after giving up the first goal of the match in the 25th minute when Hannah Callender scored for the Wildkats off a Hannah Gedlaman assist.

Polson’s Olivia Hewston got the equalizer on a direct kick in the 38th minute before Duford’s late unassisted tally propelled the Pirates to victory.

Polson had 11 shots on goal to Columbia Falls’ 7, and Jenna Evertz made four saves in net to earn the win.

Columbia Falls (4-3-0, 1-2-0) lost for the second time in as many matches after falling in Whitefish on Thursday.

“I thought we came out hard, we won balls and we did that well,” Wildkats coach Greg Trenerry said. “But we were giving up the ball and we need to possess the ball a little better. I thought Polson did a better job possessing the ball in the midfield. Give them credit, they’re a good team.”

Polson 1 1 — 2

C. Falls 1 0 — 1

CF — Hannah Callender (Hannah Gedlaman), 25:00

POL — Olivia Hewston (direct kick), 38:00

POL — Tiara Duford (unassisted), 67:00

Shots on goal — Polson 11, Columbia Falls 7. Saves — Polson 4 (Jenna Evertz), Columbia Falls 4 (Madeline Jarvis). Corner kicks — Polson 3, Columbia Falls 1. Fouls — Polson 4, Columbia Falls 5. Cards — None.

Sentinel 7, Glacier 1

The Glacier girls hung with visiting Missoula Sentinel early before the Spartans pulled away for a Western AA victory.

Glacier junior Cadie Williams tied the score at 1-1 in the eighth minute on an assist from Micah Hickethier to continue a strong start to her season.

Sentinel retook the lead on a goal from Syd Steele two minutes later, however, and broke loose in the second half, scoring five goals. Steele finished with four goals as the Spartans outshot Glacier 29-21. Glacier keeper Maddie Armstong made 20 saves in the game.

Sentinel 2 5 — 7

Glacier 1 0 — 1

SEN — Emma Caldwell (unassisted), 7:00

GLA — Cadie Williams (Micah Hickethier), 8:00

SEN — Syd Steele (unassisted), 10:00

SEN — Caldwell (unassisted), 52:00

SEN — Steele (unassisted), 53:00

SEN — Steele (unassisted), 55:00

SEN — Grace Stayner (unassisted), 68:00

SEN — Steele (unassisted), 70:00

Shots — Sentinel 29, Glacier 21. Saves — Sentinel 18 (Bekah Joy), Glacier 20 (Maddie Armstrong). Corner kicks — Sentinel 4, Glacier 3. Fouls — Sentinel 5, Glacier 6. Cards — None.

Whitefish 2, Libby 0

LIBBY — Haley Nicholson continued her white-hot start to the season with two more goals and Whitefish blanked Libby in a Northern A conference clash.

Nicholson potted unassisted goals in the 10th and 21st minutes, accounting for all the scoring in the match. The senior, who led the state with 31 goals last season, now has 19 goals through eight matches this year, again tops in Class A.

The Bulldogs (6-2-0, 4-0-0 Northern A) outshot Libby 14-1 in the match. Shannon Reny made 12 saves for the Loggers (0-6-0, 0-2-0).

“We were working on possession soccer, trying to build on our philosophy and our style of play,” Whitefish coach Roland Benedict said. “We had some tasks that the girls were working on today and it showed.

“We’re warming up and we’re practicing for later in the season and prepping ourselves for other tasks as well.”

The Bulldogs have won three straight matches, all against league opponents, outscoring the opposition 12-4 in those victories.

Whitefish returns home Saturday at 5 p.m. to take on Polson, the only other unbeaten team in Northern A.

Whitefish 2 0 — 2

Libby 0 0 — 0

WF — Haley Nicholson (unassisted), 10:00

WF — Nicholson (unassisted), 21:00

Shots on goal — Whitefish 14, Libby 1. Saves — Whitefish 1 (Kess Nelson), Libby 12 (Shannon Reny). Corner kicks — Whitefish 3, Libby 0. Fouls — Whitefish 5, Libby 4. Cards — None.