Clark Fork Soccer girls win tournament

It took three years, but the Clark Fork Soccer senior girls are once again champions after defeating Petra Academy of Bozeman and Stillwater Christian of Kalispell last weekend. It was their third tournament win and the first since 2019. 

"These ladies have worked very hard and are playing some very enjoyable soccer - they attack with intensity and defend with poise," said head coach Nick Lawyer.

In the first game of the day, Petra made it a nail-biter of a game. "Really, we seemed a bit sluggish and Petra came at us early and hard and made a real game of it. They pressed and pressed and pressed us early and made it very difficult to get into their half. I think it caught our girls by surprise," he said. 

The Clark Fork girls grew into the game and by the end of the first half were pushing for the opening goal. There was still no score at halftime and it wasn't until the second half that midfielder Claire Wrobleski of Clark Fork checked-in a cross field ball and drove it into the far-post to score. "It was a screamer, and really was deserved. Our attack was aggressive and their goalkeeper did a great job to keep us out of the game," said Lawyer.

Petra Academy continued to fight for a goal, but Clark Fork's defense stood strong and the game finished 1-0 for Clark Fork.

In the semifinal, Clark Fork faced Stillwater Christian, a team they had twice beat during the regular season. Lawyer said they were down three players, but they still felt they could beat Stillwater.

Many of the early chances of the game went Clark Fork's way. Speedster forward Chesney Low found lots of joy through the middle and had several early shots on goal only be turned away by Stillwater.  

Clark Fork players Katherine Wrobleski and Ireland Corbin combined on the left side to deliver a cross that right wing Madison Toyias of Thompson Falls was unable to turn on frame. Goalkeeper Ava Lawyer made several key saves to keep the game 0-0.

Then disaster struck for Clark Fork. Central defender Maddie Carter went down with an ankle injury late in the first half. While recovering on a loose ball she stepped awkwardly, injuring her ankle, and was unable to finish the game. "It was a big blow, we're in a fight for the championship and losing the captain of our defense was a real blow to our morale," said Lawyer.

The second half started where the first half left off. It was intense, open, and shots all over the place.  It was Stillwater who struck first, taking a 1-0 lead.

Sensing the urgency with the game fading away, Clark Fork frantically searched for an equalizing goal. It came from the most bizarre moments, when Claire Wrobleski cleared a ball from the midfield with a strong kick into the goal to tie the game 1-1. "It was like a rainbow that found the goal," said Wrobleski.

With the momentum of the game now back in Clark Fork's favor the girls pressed for a second goal. Katherine Wrobleski created several scoring opportunities and even struck the post with a wide open goal that the Stillwater keeper saved on the rebound. The game held 1-1 until Ireland Corbin delivered a ball to forward Chesney Lowe to calmly slot in to make it 2-1. "It was probably the pass of the tournament and she absolutely meant it," said Lawyer. "It gave us the go-ahead goal and was what we needed when we needed it," he added.

The championship match against Petra Academy was more about grit and determination than spectacular soccer. "Our girls were gassed after two tough games. And the championship is always a battle, but the girls were comfortable being uncomfortable and they worked through their exhaustion to finish the tournament on top," he said.

Both sides seemed hesitant to really go hard at each other and the game was tepid going into halftime, again tied 0-0. With a change in tactics to a back-three defensive line, Clark Fork stated their clear intention to win the match during regular time and not face the prospect of overtime or penalty kicks. As Clark Fork took control of the game the ball barely left their attacking half, and only for long kicks that the Clark Fork defense calmly recycled and went again. Then, surrounded and with no time, Katherine Wrobleski found a pocket of space to deliver a season defining cross to her older sister Claire, who neatly drove home a the goal for the 1-0 lead.

"These girls had the determination and focus to win three tough games and take home some hardware," Lawyer said. With their tournament win, Clark Fork ends the season with an impressive 11-1-0 record with a 40-plus goal differential.