Clark Fork draws a tie with Bitterroot

The Clark Fork Soccer Alliance U15 coed team went up against a Bitterroot junior varsity team at Amundson Sports Complex Thursday and finished with a 1-1 tie.

It took just over 25 minutes in the first half for Jacob Hutchins of the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance to slam one over the head of Bitterroot Hawk keeper Peter Harrington, the only senior on the Bitterroot team. It was only a few minutes for the Hawks to return the favor and tie the game 1-1.

Harrington had several saves, but Clark Fork Alliance keepers Ava Lawyer and Arrow Hyde also each had several saves.

"I felt they did well. We had some very young players but they conceptualized the game better," said Josh Allday, the U19 boys coach, who teamed up with Nick Lawyer, who coaches the U19 girls team. "Our club has some basic fundamentals of play, including keeping the ball on the ground, using triangles to create passing moves, using a close pass option first, and using a combination called up – back – through. I think we did all of those things tonight so at some level the kids did pretty well adhering to our clubs principles of play," said Lawyer.

Lawyer believes the only real problem was they needed better passing and continuing to improve their combination play. However, he noted a couple standout players from the girls and boys teams. He said that Katherine Wrobleski did an amazing job running the game and distributing the ball. "Clinton Weedeman was very dangerous. He had some great through balls and a couple of excellent shots. Nathaniel Brody from Thompson Falls was also excellent, he beat multiple players with his dribble and created several scoring opportunities," said Lawyer, who also recognized Hutchin's sole. "He has a howitzer for a foot and I was really impressed with his shooting tonight," said Lawyer.

This was the second time the U19 boys and girls combined forces to take on the Bitterroot Hawks. The two teams of Clark Fork Soccer Alliance faced off against the Hawks at Stevensville in August when Allday and Lawyer put in their more senior players and crushed the Hawks 8-1. These were the only two times they played together this season. Bitterroot had lost all three of their prior games.

More than 60 fans lined the field to watch Thursday's game at Plains. Clark Fork Soccer Alliance had 10 girls and seven boys on the team from 11 to 15 years old from Plains and Thompson Falls. The Hawks had 10 boys and four girls.

Lawyer mentioned that a lot of what normally takes place on the soccer field is team chemistry, but he felt they were missing quite a bit of that chemistry Thursday. "Players were zigging instead of zagging. On the whole I think we were lucky to get the draw and for sure the Bitterroot probably deserved to win the game," said Lawyer, who admitted that one reason for missing that team chemistry is they aren't used to playing together.