By BRANDON HANSEN

Hungry Horse News

For 70 minutes, the North’s No. 1 seed, Columbia Falls, was in the grasp of a 0-0 battle with the South’s No. 3 seed Polson.

Bruno Vazquez, however, broke the stalemate with a score in the 71st minute, and the scoring continued for the next seven minutes as the Wildcats advanced to the Class A State Semifinals with a 3-0 victory on Saturday, Oct. 20.

“For about 70 minutes, they held us,” Columbia Falls Head Coach O’Brien Byrd said. “Polson played a low block, which meant if we didn’t catch them in transition, they had nine guys in front of the goal box.”

By the 70th minute, Byrd’s blood pressure was probably elevated as his team had put 20 shots at Polson’s goalie Maddox Bird.

“It’s stressful,” Byrd said. “You’re beginning to run out of time, and while as a coach it is satisfying to see that many chances, their goalkeeper was having the game of his life. After the game, I told him he was the MVP. You simply don’t see 20 saves in Class A soccer.”

Byrd moved Isak Soyland from the defensive posture as a right back to a more attacking position.

“He is one of those fast guys, so we changed strategy and moved him up top,” Byrd said.

Soyland assisted on the first goal and then the third goal in Columbia Falls’ scoring flurry.

Byrd also felt that Jackson Scholz would stand out in a matchup like this.

“It’s a game where they marked our top goal scorer. We thought Jackson would shine brightly in a gritty game like this,” Byrd said. “Our coaches believed in him and thought this was his game to score.”

Scholz scored in 76th minute, giving Columbia Falls some much-needed breathing room as Polson had almost put one in the net just before Scholz’s score.

The Columbia Falls’ school-record holder in goals scores in a season, Maxwell Everett, finally broke through in the 77th minute for a score from Soyland’s assist. This ended a game of frustration for him as Polson had made him a focus point for their defense.

The Wildcats posted 25 shots in the matchup, along with six corner kicks. Polson had three corner kicks and one shot on goal.

“We got the shutout, and goalkeeper Rafe Rusche had a huge save when it was 1-0,” Byrd said. “They kicked through our wall, and he made one of the best saves of his career.”

Byrd also credited Ethan Henjum and Connor Zumalt is playing excellent defense in a stressful game.

“As a defender, when your team isn’t scoring, more pressure builds because you can’t make one mistake,” Byrd said. “If you are three goals ahead, you can breathe a little easier, but when it’s 0-0 at halftime, the pressure isn’t on the offense but the defenders because they have to go back out there and play flawlessly.”

Byrd gave credit to Polson for coming out and playing Columbia Falls strong.

“They came ready to play against a No. 1 seed and the No. 1-ranked team in the state,” Byrd said. “They played like they were a No. 1 seed.”

Columbia Falls has advanced to the state semifinals in Billings, where it will take a 10-hour road trip to play the undefeated Billings Central, the No. 1 seed in the East.

“It will be a classic playoff game situation in that we will have to play the best game of the season against them to win,” Byrd said. “Along with us, they are the only other undefeated team in the state.”

The two will play at Amend Park in Billings, an artificial turf field.

“Turf is great,” Byrd said. “It’s fast, which suits our team. We’ll have a few practices at Legends Stadium in Kalispell. Get to Billings early on Friday and practice at Amend to get a feel for it. We will be fine on that surface. We’re happy it’s not a small, grass soccer field but a proper soccer pitch, and we’re excited about it.”

Columbia Falls missed out on the semifinals last year, but this season, they have had two of their biggest challenges against Whitefish and Polson going into the Final Four round.

“We have learned a lot about our team the past two games,” Byrd said.

Billings Central has defeated Whitefish this season, and Byrd said they have been going over game film to identify weaknesses and plan how to exploit them.