COLUMBIA FALLS — Ryder Elliott’s second goal of the game capped off an exciting finish for the Whitefish Bulldogs in a 4-3 win over the Columbia Falls Wildcats in Northwest A soccer on Tuesday.

Just about anything goes when these teams play and that was certainly the case Tuesday at Flip Darling Memorial Field in the first meeting of the Bulldogs and Wildcats this season — both arguably two of the best teams in the state.

“It was a great game,” Whitefish coach John Lacey said. “It's so fun to watch these boys play this level of soccer. They come out and they compete and even when it looks like one team has an edge, the others roar back. They're playing great soccer. The competitiveness and the sportsmanship. … I couldn't be more proud of all 22 guys on the field.”

Elliott scored one minute into the game, and Kai Golan tied it in the 10th minute for Columbia Falls.

And that was how they went into the half, tied 1-1.

Preston McPherson and Collin Lyman added to Whitefish’s lead.

Golan scored on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute and then surged through midfield to score a top-shelf goal over Whitefish goalkeeper Ethan Bourque that tied the game in the 75th.

The high didn’t last long: Elliott scored his second goal in the 76th, and there things would stand at the final whistle.

“We have a young team with like nine new starters,” Columbia Falls coach O’Brien Byrd said. “We know how they can play and we know that we're way better than that. It's emotional and these young guys are learning to control their emotions.”

Last year, Columbia Falls (5-1-1 overall, 2-1-0 in league) beat Whitefish (5-0-0, 3-0-0) twice, including snapping the Bulldogs’ four-year long winning streak en route to their first state title since 2005.

Whitefish 1 3 — 4

Columbia Falls 1 2 — 3

WF — Ryder Elliott (Griffin Gunlikson) 1:00

CF — Kai Golan 10:00

WF — Preston McPherson (Gunlikson) 46:00

WF — Collin Lyman (Elijah Adams-Griffin) 63:00

CF — Golan 73:00

CF — Golan (Jack Harris) 75:00

WF — Elliott 76:00

Shots — WF 12, CF 7. Goalie saves — WF 6 (Ethan Bourque), CF 8 (Rafe Rusche). Corner kicks — WF 4, CF 2. Fouls — WF 18, CF 8. Cards — WF 2, CF 1.

Girls

Whitefish 4, Columbia Falls 2

COLUMBIA FALLS — Sadie Olson broke a tie in the second half and Isabelle Cooke scored an insurance goal as the Whitefish Bulldogs outlasted the Columbia Falls Wildkats Tuesday in Northwest A girls soccer.

Olson and Delaney Smith gave the Bulldogs an early 2-0 lead that Josie Harris cut to 2-1 just before the half.

Mila Johns tied it up 2-2 in the 59th minute. Olson and Cooke struck one minute apart for the dagger.

“Coaches say they’re proud of their team every time they play but tonight we stuck to our game plan and executed,” Wildkats coach Thomas Clark said. “Tonight we lost to a team that is well coached and has played in a few state championship games… I think we are the top two teams in the state and it’s up to us to prove that we belong in that discussion.”

Whitefish improves to 6-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in league. Columbia Falls is 4-1-1 and 1-1-1.

Whitefish 2 2 — 4

Columbia Falls 1 1 — 2

WF — Sadie Olson (Olivia Genovese) 3:00

WF — Delaney Smith (Genovese) 4:00

CF — Josie Harris (Hope McAtee) 37:00

CF — Mila Johns 59:00

WF — Olson (Smith) 66:00

WF — Isabelle Cooke 67:00

Shots — WF 12, CF 16. Goalie saves — WF 15 (Norah Schmidt), CF 14 (Erica Burguiere). Corner kicks — WF 2, CF 6. Fouls — WF 9, CF 5. Cards — WF 1.