Flathead took its shots but couldn’t find the back of the net until late, coming up short in a 2-1 loss to Missoula Sentinel in the Western AA boys soccer playoffs on Thursday at Legends Stadium.

Sentinel played the long ball well the whole game, and took advantage of its lone chance in the first half. With Flathead carrying possession for most of the first half, Spartans sophomore defender Jake Larson played a deep pass to Cole Reimer, who leapt for a header in the air, arcing a shot inside the far post for the first goal of the match.

The Braves had chances, with Shane Rieke rocketing a shot off the post just minutes later, but entered the half trailing 1-0. A corner kick just 11 minutes into the second half ended with Flathead firing an attempt directly into the Sentinel keeper and another shot sailed high a minute later.

The Braves headed a shot wide on a corner kick in the 60th minute and shot attempts over the crossbar in the 61st, and on a corner kick in the 70th.

Sentinel broke the second-half stalemate on a corner kick in the 72nd minute. Junior defender Aiden Sage0 lofted a cross from the right corner to a leaping Larson, who headed in the goal to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.

Flathead got on the board on a header from Colter Goss in the 75th minute. Braves senior forward A.J. Apple sent a high pass in transition that Goss flicked past the Sentinel keeper.

The Braves bombarded the goal over the next few minutes, but couldn’t get a clean shot, with the final whistle blowing on a clear from the Sentinel keeper to end Flathead’s season.

“It’s October soccer, it’s hard to win in October,” Braves coach Nate Evans said. “It’s not where our team wanted to finish, not where our seniors wanted to finish, not where I wanted to finish with these guys. It’s tough to win in October.

“Overall, I’m proud of these guys. They worked hard all season. To not get that result is pretty tough. We learn and grow from it, move forward and do better next time.”

Sentinel grabbed at least the fourth seed from the West, depending on the result of today’s Helena-Helena Capital match.

Sentinel 1 1 — 2

Flathead 0 1 — 1

S — Cole Reimer (Jake Larson), 31:00

S — Larson (Aiden Sage, corner kick), 72:00

F — Colter Goss (AJ Apple), 75:00

Shots on goal — Sentinel 4, Flathead 5. Goalie saves — Sentinel 2 (Ty Whalen), Flathead 2 (Max Warnell). Corner kicks – Sentinel 5, Flathead 3. Fouls — Sentinel 10, Flathead 21. Yellow cards — Flathead 1, Sentinel 1.