Girls team returns a host of solid players

Columbia Falls girls soccer enters the 2025 season with high expectations and a roster loaded with experience and talent. Head coach Thomas Clark said those expectations aren’t something he sets for his players, but something they establish for themselves.

“As a coaching staff we talk to the players every year about what their goals and expectations are for the season,” Clark said. “The reality is, and this is something I talk about at our parent meeting every year, the players ultimately dictate their expectations and goals and I’m just here to help them get there. I think that is the way that every program should operate, because if you are constantly having to push a team to meet expectations that they don’t have for themselves, it’s going to be a long season.”

This year, however, motivation isn’t an issue.

“All that said, these girls have high expectations and lofty goals, and we are pushing them every single day to put them in the best possible position to ultimately end up where they want to be,” Clark said.

The Wildcats return 30 players to the program, a number Clark says reflects the strong soccer culture in Columbia Falls and across the Flathead Valley. The squad is anchored by five seniors, all of whom hold starting spots on varsity, as well as a core group of upperclassmen.

“We have 30 players in our program, which is a testament to the soccer culture that so many people have worked to develop in Columbia Falls and the Valley as a whole,” Clark said. “We have a great group of underclassmen combined with five amazing seniors all of which are in starting positions on varsity. We have nine upperclassmen in our starting lineup and all of them were members of our 2023 team that played in the state championship, so there really is some urgency to capitalize on meet the goals that they’ve set.”

That urgency is matched by experience. The Wildcats bring back eight players who earned postseason recognition in 2024, including three All-State standouts: Taylor Rodgers, Alexa Friske and Evie Dorr. All-Conference returners include Isla Alexander, Riley Byrd, Bella Mann, Mila Johns and Onnikka Lawrence.

“We have a strong group of All-State and All-Conference Players returning to the program,” Clark said. “So when eight of your starters have received accolades in previous years, you really feel like you can compete with anyone.”

The path to another state run won’t be easy. Columbia Falls expects a tough challenge within the conference.

“Historically we have had an incredibly strong conference over the past few seasons and I’d expect the same this year,” Clark said. “Whitefish is bringing in a lot of very talented young players into their program and Bigfork has a huge and very strong senior class this year. So both those teams are going to push us really hard.

“We won the conference last year and our goal is to win it again this year. I know we have the team to do it and so it really will be about setting up great training sessions as a coaching staff and the players ultimately executing on game day.”

Clark said the Wildcats’ strength lies in their chemistry, versatility and ability to attack from anywhere on the field.

“Our biggest strength as a group is a collective high soccer IQ and understanding. A lot of these girls have played together for a very long time and they really play a great brand of soccer,” he said. “What makes this group really unique though, is that we can create chances and score goals in a lot of different ways. We are going to be hard to defend because we have dangerous players all over the pitch.”

The challenge, Clark added, is finishing those chances. “That is something we are working on in training every single day.”

As the season begins, Clark said the message is simple: “Excited for the year!”

The girls open the season at home Friday against Laurel. Game time is 6 p.m.