Glacier soccer squads host AA playoff games
Daily Inter Lake | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 2 hours, 2 minutes AGO
Tuesday the Glacier Wolfpack gets to call Kidsports home for two Class AA soccer playoff games, with the girls playing Helena Capital at 2 p.m. and the boys playing host to Missoula Big Sky at 4.
Both squads went 2-0 against their opponent during the regular season. The Wolfpack boys (10-3-1) beat the Eagles (3-9-2) by scores of 3-1 and 5-0; the girls handed the Bruins setbacks of 4-1 and 2-0.
It's a case of the No. 6 seed traveling to face No. 3, but Glacier still needs to take advantage of the home cooking.
The girls face a Capital squad that boasts a 14-goal scorer in senor Hadley McCutcheon. Gracie Winkler has found the net 17 times for the Pack, and fellow juniors Lucy Holloway and Addison Brisendine have reached double figures in goals.
"We've been looking forward to this moment all season," said first-year Glacier head coach Ryan Thompson, whose club boasts just one senior in Kylie Shine. "The girls are fired up and ready to compete."
The Big Sky boys boast a nine-goal scorer in Connor Martinsen; the Wolfpack counters with a more explosive attack led by Zander Schmautz (12 goals), Brecken Evenson (11) and Madrid Stephan (8).
Most if not all of the Wolfpack got their first grass stains at this venue, coach Ryan Billiet noted.
"Number one, it's really cool we're at Kidsport because it's where a majority of these kids started in soccer," Billiet said. "That's one big piece of that, just the root. All of the support that these guys have received along the way, from parents and coaches and everyone, to prepare for this moment and this season, it's really cool.
"So here we are, at home, and really excited to play in front of our community."
The winner of the boys match heads to play Billings West, the No. 2 seed out of the Eastern A, at 4 p.m. Saturday at SMS Stadium.
At 6 p.m. at the same venue, Billings Senior will face the winner between the Glacier and Capital girls.