WHITEFISH — Kyler Jonson scored a hat trick, including a pivotal penalty kick in the 25th  minute, to lead Whitefish to a 3-1 victory over Bigfork in a Class A boys soccer play-in game on Tuesday afternoon.  

“Super excited to get the job done, I think the team played really well,” Jonson said. “They passed a lot to me and helped me score those three goals, so shoutout to the team.” 

Bulldogs head coach Eric Sawtelle admired the passion his team played with in the win.  

“I'm really proud of the boy's collective effort, and today we wanted to play with intensity and intelligence, and I felt like they did that through most of the game.” 

Quinn Kerr scored the first goal in the ninth minute of the match for Bigfork. Donovan Stutzman threaded a pass down the sideline to create the opportunity for Kerr to strike the ball past the Bulldogs defense, giving the Vikings early momentum.  

Nine minutes later, Jack Oehlerich found Jonson outside the box; he dribbled past the Vikings' back line and threaded a ball through the net to tie the game 1-1. 

In a physical match that featured 15 fouls, four yellow cards and one red, the Bulldogs took advantage with a penalty kick in the 25th minute. Jonson snuck the ball past the Bigfork keeper to take the lead. 

Jonson scored his final goal of the game in the 41st minute from a free kick just outside the box. He blasted a shot around Vikings defenders to increase the lead to 3-1. 

For the remaining time left in the second half, Whitefish focused on the defensive end by limiting Bigfork any opportunity's to be within striking distance. Whitefish goalkeeper Charlie Dow finished with four saves. 

Bigfork coach Trevor Moll noted how exciting this opportunity was for his team.  

“We got a lot of young guys on the field. We kind of let our feet off the gas a little bit and momentum swung,” he said. “When that happens, it tends to lean towards the team with more age and maturity to get the win, and that happened. For our guys, this was their first big game for a lot of them, so they’ve gotten to experience that now.” 

The Bulldogs now advance to the quarterfinals in the Class A playoffs, where they will host Hamilton on Saturday. Time of the match is TBA. 

Bigfork        1    0    -    1 

Whitefish     2    1    -    3 

B — Quinn Kerr (Donovan Stutzman), 9:00 

W — Kyler Jonson (Jack Oehlerich), 18:00 

W — Jonson (Penalty kick), 25:00 

W — Jonson, 41:00 

Shots — Bigfork 8, Whitefish 12. Saves — Bigfork 4 (Donovan Stutzman), Whitefish 4 (Charlie Dow). Corner kicks — Bigfork 1, Whitefish 2. Fouls — Bigfork 5, Whitefish 10. Yellow Cards — Bigfork 2, Whitefish 2. Red Cards — Bigfork 1.