Whitefish High School’s soccer teams brought home wins from road games last week, edging out Lone Peak on Friday and topping Stevensville on Saturday.  

The boys beat Big Sky 1-0 and the girls won 3-0. The following day, they added two more wins at Stevi, the boys 4-0 and the girls 6-0. 

The Bulldogs played a tough and gritty game at Big Sky, reminiscent of the last time the team played there a couple years ago in the playoffs, Coach Eric Sawtelle recalled. 

“Lone Peak is a tough physical team that knows how to play on their fast and small turf field," he said. "It's a very difficult place to play and they are a very difficult team to play against." 

Evidence of the tough match lies in the stats. Lone Peak outshot Whitefish 8-5 and had 7 corner kicks to Whitefish's 3. Sawtelle called it a "proper battle." 

"The back line was imperious. Our five seniors that played in defensive positions were all excellent, and Quinn Powers, especially, had an exceptional game," he said. "In the midfield, Max Brown was a machine — he was everywhere. Chance Isles made a great run in the box and was fouled from behind to win a penalty that freshman Roen Chisholm confidently ripped into the corner netting." 

The win put the Bulldogs' record to 1-1-1. 

"We are very proud of the effort, the collective spirit, and ability to hang tough and grind out a clean sheet," he said. "Much of the game was not pretty soccer, but the boys did what they had to do, and we are psyched to walk away with a win and start to build some momentum as the season gets rolling." 

The Whitefish girls outshot the Big Horns 16-8 in a physical game. 

Head Coach Kelly Ordway said the match up was strong, with physical but clean battles in the midfield. 

"We passed and connected very well," Ordway said. "Sophomore Millie Meyer sent a beautiful leading pass to our junior wing Jenna Kimble who found the back of the net with one touch." 

The Lady Bulldogs scored in the 23rd and 36th minute. 

"Minutes before the half ended, outside back Grace Sliman sent the ball long to captain senior forward Anna Boysen for the goal," she said. 

Whitefish added a goal late in the second half.  

"Atley Bingham possessed and distributed the ball well throughout the game before scoring an unassisted goal in the 74th minute," Ordway added. "Sophomore Ayla Mosher was tenacious on defense and senior Marlis Nargi was steady in goal." 

In Stevensville Saturday, the Bulldogs' senior, William Dohman, scored in the first half after making an overlapping run up the wing and placing the ball in the corner of the net. 

Whitefish scored three more unanswered goals in the second half for two clean sheets in two games. Roan Chisholm scored two goals from the top of the 18-yard box and Max Brown was at the far post to make sure a strong effort from Tyler Larkin found the back of the net. 

Every player got time on the field Saturday, and each contributed to the solid team win. 

"It's great to see this team start to build some rhythm and confidence on the pitch," Sawtelle said. "We are very happy with our defensive foundation and the relationships that are starting to form between players in the offensive third. 

"We were more composed in possession and were able to find space on the wings, which in turn opened up opportunities in the middle," Sawtelle noted. "There is still a lot of room for improvement but overall, we are very happy with the progress the boys have made over the past two weeks." 

Sawtelle said the team is looking forward to getting back to work on the training pitch this week and the conference games that lie ahead. 

The Whitefish girls team scored goals and recorded a shutout against the Yellowjackets. The Lady Bulldogs outshot their opponent 23-2. 

Junior Jenna Kimble accepted assists from sophomore Atley Bingham for a brace. Bingham also sent an assist to Neva Sliman for a goal in the 8th minute, and Bingham scored one, herself, at the end of the game. Sliman added a goal in the 44th minute, assisted by Sage Ordway and sophomore Adelle Flynn rounded out the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 26th minute. 

Whitefish Girls Assistant Coach Andy Hackett noted the strength of the team's defensive shape and grit. 

"Our back line is doing a great job of shutting down shooting and scoring opportunities while our offense is cleanly putting the ball in the net," Hackett said. 

The teams travel to Browning on Thursday and to Thompson Falls on Saturday.