Whitefish soccer continued its winning ways in the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs at home Saturday. The boys were victorious over Lockwood in a 4-2 shootout after playing to a 1-1 tie after extra time. The Whitefish girls won against Park, 3-1.  

The Bulldogs and the Lions were statistically evenly matched. The teams amassed the same number of fouls, corner kicks and saves. Whitefish outshot Lockwood 7-4. 

Lockwood brought size and strength to the pitch for what Head Coach Eric Sawtelle knew would be a physical and challenging game. 

"I am so proud of our boys for the unity, the fight and the determination they showed today," Sawtelle said. "Going into the game, we had the belief that we will not be denied another week of training and playing together, and the boys came through today."   

The game ended in a scoreless tie after 80 minutes, forcing two, 10-minute overtime periods. Midway through the first overtime, the Bulldogs battered the ball around, dangerously close to the Lions' goal, only to be turned away with athletic saves by the Lockwood keeper and defense. 

Minutes later, the Lions converted a penalty shot to go up 1-0.  

In the second overtime period, Whitefish senior Tristan Irwin scored with a powerful header from a beautiful corner kick by Roen Chisholm.  

"These big games are packed full of emotion and physical effort. Everyone leaves everything on the pitch," Sawtelle said. "After a harsh penalty given to the opponent in overtime, we showed immense composure and mental strength to regroup and push for the equalizer." 

Sawtelle said after 100 minutes of hard-fought soccer, determining the outcome of a game with a round of penalty shots is "brutal" for both teams.  

Whitefish keeper Ben Nelson set the tone for the shootout when he saved the first of Lockwood's shots, leaping to his right and extending a strong right hand to divert the ball. Nelson guessed right on the second shot, too, but missed blocking it by inches. 

Bulldogs Chisholm, Irwin, Max Brown and Luca Duffy each sank penalty kicks in textbook fashion, eschewing raw power for composure and control as they appeared to effortlessly pass the ball into the corner of the netting. Whitefish won the shootout, 4-2. 

"All of our boys that stepped up to the spot to take the kick delivered near perfect shots and Ben was superb between the sticks throughout," he said. "Overall, a very impressive team effort, and we not only earned another week together, we get to play in a semifinal on our beautiful pitch with our amazing community support." 

THE WHITEFISH girls continued to play as a unit and exhibit clean passing and tenacious teamwork in their 3-1 win over Park on Saturday. 

"Whitefish pressed fast and early with poised possession and a penetrating attack that created several good scoring opportunities," Head Coach Kelly Ordway said. 

Atley Bingham put Whitefish ahead in the middle of the first half when she received an ideally weighted long pass from Barrett Clark and alertly chipped the ball over the Ranger keeper's outstretched arm. 

In the 63rd minute, Bingham sent a centering pass from right wing and junior Jenna Kimble one-touched it with pace into the back of the net. Ten minutes later, junior Grace Sliman ripped one in from the left wing.  

With six minutes left, Park shot one in that bobbled in front of Whitefish’s goal and crossed the line to put the Rangers on the board and ruin Whitefish's clean sheet. 

The Whitefish defensive line continued to be strong, fast and smart. 

"The win was such a collective effort with Ayla Mosher handling a tough mark, Millie Meyer leading the charges at defensive midfield, excellent ball handling from Adelle Flynn and intelligent connecting passes from junior captain Sage Ordway," Ordway said.  

In other playoff results, the Columbia Falls boys fell to Billings Central, 4-1, and Polson edged out Bigfork in a shootout, 5-3. Park beat Corvallis, 3-0, and will face Whitefish next week. 

The Columbia Falls girls team beat Hamilton, 5-1, Billings Central shut out Bigfork, 5-0, and Laurel beat Stevensville, 2-0. 

The quarterfinal games are home, at Smith Fields, on Saturday, Oct. 24. The girls meet Laurel at 11 a.m., and the boys play Park at 1 p.m. 

Reporter Julie Engler can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support. 

    Senior midfielder Martin Christiansen powers past the Lockwood opponents on Saturday. (Julie Engler/WHtiefish Pilot)  

    Senior midfielder Luca Duffy reaches to stop a Lockwood player on Saturday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish PIlot)  

    The ball ping ponged around the goal mouth in a wild moment during the first overtime period of the boys game on Saturday. (Juile Engler/Whitefish PIlot)  

    Whitefish defender Sage Ordway denies a Park player on Saturday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)  

    Elated, exhausted Bulldogs rush out to celebrate their win Saturday with keeper Ben Nelson after the shootout victory on Saturday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Sophomore forward Atley Bingham keeps her eye on the ball during the semifinal match against Park on Saturday. (julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Sophomore midfielder Adelle Flynn carries the ball upfield on Saturday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Junior forward Jenna Kimble splits the defense in Saturday's semifinal match with Park. (Julie Engler/Whitefish PIlot)
  

    Bulldog keeper Ben Nelson makes a save in the semifinal game against Lockwood on Saturday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Sophomore midfielder Millie Meyer controls the ball on Saturday against Park. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)