Cats fall just short against Bulldogs in title game

The Columbia Falls girls soccer team fell just short in the state A championship on the road Saturday against Whitefish, 2-1.

Bulldog Grace Sliman scored just 8 minutes in and it was 1-0 at the break. The Cats pressed hard late in the first half but couldn’t find the back of the net.

In the second half the Bulldogs padded the margin at the 48-minute mark when Jenna Kimble knocked in a score.

But the Wildcats have been down before and kept the pressure on. They scored at the 68-minute mark when June Johnston knocked in a corner kick off the foot of Riley Byrd to make it 2-1.

The Cats had a flurry of shots both before and after that corner, including a point-blank try by Onnikka Lawrence that the Whitefish keep turned away and a free kick by Byrd that was turned away by the Whitefish defense. The Cats out-shot the Bulldogs 12-7 and they had six corner kicks, while Whitefish had just one.

Coach Thomas Clark noted the Cats were solid in the second half, but the shots were just off the mark.

“We kind of threw the kitchen sink at them,” Clark said. For the most part, the Cats kept the ball in the Whitefish side of the field, but just couldn’t quite get it done, Clark noted.

But credit to the Bulldogs — they played excellent defense throughout the match.

This was the third time the teams had met this season. They played to a 1-1 draw in Columbia Falls and the Cats lost 2-1 at Smith Fields earlier in the year.

The Cats have nothing to hang their heads over. The senior starters, Tatiana Raymond, Onnikka Lawrence, Riley Byrd and Alexa Friske played in three state championships in their high school tenure. 

“They had wildly successful careers,” Clark noted.

They finished 13-2-1 overall this year.

They lose five seniors including Piper Holm, but return a solid squad next season. Evie Dorr is one of the best holding midfielders in the state, Clark noted. Johnston was a constant force on the offensive end and Dahlstrom is an excellent goalie and they’re both just sophomores

So they’ll be right in the mix again next season, Clark noted.