Valley soccer teams get home action

Kids certainly got their kicks Saturday at Amundson Sports Arena for a complete day of soccer between Plains, Thompson Falls, St. Regis, Frenchtown, Stevensville, Libby and Kalispell.

Games began at 9 a.m. with the oldest group, the U16 Clark Fork Soccer Alliance of Plains taking on the Kootenai Rapids of Libby and finishing the day with the U12 Clark Fork Soccer Alliance facing the Frenchtown Force shortly after 5 p.m.

The U12 Clark Fork Soccer Alliance claimed victory in both games, continuing its undefeated winning streak. They will be going into their next game in Saturday in Kalispell. "They played hard and they played smart," said Chance Adams, who co-coached the U12 team with Jeremiah Allen. The team first nabbed a 5-0 win against the Kootenai Rapids. The U12 Frenchtown Force whipped the Kootenai Rapids earlier in the day 6-2, but they were no match for the players of Adams and Allen, which took the game 4-1.

"They know their stuff and they're eager to learn," said Adams, who pointed out the excellent performance of Tristan Allen, the goal keeper the entire second game. Allen had numerous saves and allowed only one ball past him. "He's our main keeper and he's good," said Adams, who's in his second season as coach in the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance. His team this year is sponsored by the Clark Fork Valley Hospital. Their next home game is scheduled for May 14 at 10 a.m. against Helena's Queen City team.

It was the first victory of the season for Clark Fork Soccer Alliance's U10 team, coached by Beth and Brian Meaden and assistant coach Martin Wrobleski. The team defeated Thompson Falls 2-1. However, in their second game they lost 12-0 against the Flathead White players. Thompson Falls, coached by Nate and Ashley Block, lost their second game 5-0  to Libby.

David Wrobleski's U16 boys and girls suffered two losses Saturday, losing to the  Kootenai Rapids 3-2 in the morning and taking a 13-0 loss to Stevensville in the afternoon. Wrobleski said their second opponent was essentially the Stevensville High School varsity soccer team and were nearly all 16 years old, while his were a combination of boys and girls from ages 13 to 17. His team consists of 18 players with 11 from Plains, three from St. Regis, three from Thompson Falls, and one from Hot Springs.

His son, Andrew, scored both points in the morning game against the Rapids. The coach said his players connect well as a unit and as a team on the pitch and they are good at finding each other on the field. "However, it's a big field and they need to find the players who are further away and have more space to play," said Wrobleski. The team travels to Great Falls in the first weekend in May to take on Great Falls and Bozeman teams. Their next home games will be May 7 against Missoula and Helena.

The Thompson Falls U12 beat the Missoula Strikers 5-2 and Stevensville 1-0 at Stevensville. Plains U19 tied Polson U19 3-3 and beat Columbia Falls U18 2-0.