Whitefish girls' hand Wildkats their first loss of season

WHITEFISH — Whitefish ended the Columbia Falls girls’ unbeaten soccer run with a 2-1 victory Saturday, handing the defending state champions their first loss since the 2024 season. 

Whitefish made it a sweep of its North A neighbor, with the boys prevailing 3-0 in the opener. 

Bulldogs 2, Wildkats 1

Both teams went into halftime scoreless despite Whitefish gaining control for a majority of the opening half. Neva Sliman, Adelle Flynn and Sage Ordway helped the Bulldogs in the midfield, while goalkeeper Marlis Nargi made six saves. 

Atley Bingham broke the tie in the 51st minute, finishing a pass from Jenna Kimble. Bingham struck again just six minutes later to give Whitefish a 2-0 lead. 

Piper Holm answered immediately for the Wildkats (6-1-0. 2-1-0 in the North A), finishing Tatian Raymond's cross. Whitefish (5-1-0, 2-0-0 in league) put 15 shots on goal, forcing goalkeeper Medora Dahlstrom to make 13 saves. 

Columbia Falls    0    1    -    1 

Whitefish    0    2    -    2  

W — Atley Bingham (Jenna Kimble), 51:00
W — Bingham (Barrett Clark), 57:00
CF — Piper Holm (Tatiana Raymond), 58:00 

Shots on goal — Whitefish 15, Columbia Falls 7. Saves — Whitefish 6 (Marlis Nargi), Columbia Falls 13 (Medora Dahlstrom). Corner kicks — Whitefish 4. Fouls — Whitefish 1, Columbia Falls 3. 

Bulldogs 3, Wildcats 0 

Keller Sawtelle scored the only goal Whitefish (6-1-1 overall, 4-0-0 in the Northern A) needed in the 28th minute and added an assist on Chance Isles’ tally in the 73rd. 

Graysen Rembaugh’s goal just before intermission gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 2-0 lead. 

“Our young team learned some tough lessons on the pitch today vs the Dogs who showed up to play,” Columbia Falls coach O’Brien Byrd said. “ Adjustments in the second half made things more our brand, but the first half deficit was too much to overcome.” 

The Wildcats fell to 5-3-0, 3-1-0 in league. 

Columbia Falls    0    0    -    0 

Whitefish    2    1    -    3

W — Keller Sawtelle (Tyler Larkin), 28:00 

W — Graysen Rembaugh, 40:00 

W — Chance Isles (Sawtelle), 73:00 

Shots on goal — Columbia Falls 7, Whitefish 19. Keeper saves — Columbia Falls (Talon Bates) 7, Whitefish (Ben Nelson) 3. Fouls — Columbia Falls 9, Whitefish 12. Corner kicks — Columbia Falls 3, Whitefish 7. Cards — Whitefish 2 yellow, Columbia Falls 2 yellow.