Blue Hawk soccers takes on Bigfork, Whitefish

The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks soccer teams put up a good battle, but in the end the visitors dominated at Thompson Falls last Tuesday evening.

The Bigfork Valkyries first defeated the Lady Hawks 8-1 and the Vikings claimed a 4-1 victory over the Blue Hawks following the girls game.

"Bigfork has a good team, but I thought we matched up with them very well and I think they are a team that we can beat," said the Blue Hawks head coach Michael Scharfe. His boys will get the chance when they face the Vikings again, this time at Bigfork on Oct. 8, as will Nick Lawyer's Lady Hawks on the same day.

"We thought from the get-go Bigfork would be a tough opponent to beat. They were the third place finisher last year at the state tournament. And they have already knocked up some impressive wins," said Lawyer.

It's the first year for Thompson Falls High School to have varsity soccer, co-oping with Plains and St. Regis. The Lady Hawks have played five games and lost all but one, tying Libby 3-3 at Libby on Sept. 12. Last week's game against Bigfork was the fifth game for the boys, too. The Blue Hawks haven't won, either. They lost two and tied against Libby and Lone Peak, a Big Sky team.

Tuesday's game began with the Blue Hawks striking first when sophomore Liam Pallister shot one past Viking keeper Marion Herring from the 10-yard line some 12 minutes into the game. About 10 minutes later, the Vikings got on the board and the game was 1-1 at halftime. "Liam Pallister did a great job on his goal of not giving up and staying with his shot. This paid off with a goal scored," said Scharfe, who coached club soccer for several years.

"We had some good looks and good shots on the goal in both the first and second half of play, just couldn't get enough of them to go in," said Scharfe, who added that sophomore Jacob Howell did a good job as the Blue Hawks keeper, especially since it was his first game back as keeper this season. "I am not sure of the total number of saves he ended up with, but I do know he had more saves than goals scored against him," the coach said.

Scharfe added that he was pleased with how his team performed and said his players have improved in each game. "And that makes me so proud of these boys. We still have some work to do on communication and ball movement. I am confident the wins will come," he said.

The Bigfork Valkyries poured on the heat from the beginning and within five minutes they put one past Lady Hawk keeper Callie McGillis, a senior. Less than two minutes later, however, eighth-grader Katherine Wrobleski fired one in to put the Lady Hawks on the board to tie things up 1-1. It took another 10 minutes for the Valkyries to score again. The Bigfork girls had a 4-1 lead by halftime.

The report of lightning in the area delayed the game for 30 minutes, but when back on, Bigfork fought hard and by game's end chalked up more points. Junior Jaden Bewick took over the keeper role for Thompson Falls with just over 15 minutes left in the game. "Come on ladies, fight to the end," said Lawyer to his players with only a few minutes left.

"The girls put up a great fight. And they played really tough until the halftime break. A 40-minute halftime is hard for anyone, and I think we came out a bit flat. But to Bigfork's credit, they were tough and competitive and played hard right to the very end," he said.

Lawyer noted that the team was placed in an "exceptionally tough conference." Bigfork took third place last year and the Whitefish players were last year's champions. "It's an incredibly difficult conference, and as a brand new high school program with a lot of growth to do, this season is going to be one of grit and determination," said Lawyer, who has coached club soccer for over 10 years. "I was actually really pleased with our performance tonight. To have held them for 20 minutes and been fighting for the draw through the first half, I thought we did really well," he said.

Lawyer plans to have his girls work on manipulating the ball in personal space, giving and receiving passes, and combining to move the ball around the soccer field. "This is going to be a long process, and it's going to take time for us to develop and grow," he said, adding that he believes his team is at the right level. "Every single player on our team deserves credit for how hard they played, the grit and determination they showed, and they did not give up throughout the game," said Lawyer. "I'm proud of them, and I know continued growth and development is in our future."

by Skye Barker-Hill

WHITEFISH 9, THOMPSON FALLS 3

The Thompson Falls-Plains-St Regis Lady Hawk soccer team took on the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs falling 9-3.

Swiftly in the first half the Lady Hawks were able to drive the ball up the right side for their first goal. Keeping the pressure on the Lady Bulldogs, Katherine Wrobleski was able to get the ball back down field for another Hawk goal, putting Thompson up 2-0 early in the game. Whitefish tried for a goal but was met with Hawk keeper Callie McGillis who was able to block the shot. While the Hawks tried to answer with their own goal they were unable to get the ball back down field. The Lady Bulldogs would tie the game with five minutes left before the half.

Coming back from the half, Whitefish upped their defense and wouldn't allow Thompson to get more than mid field. Swiftly the Lady Bulldogs were once again able to find the net for their third goal, taking the lead. Whitefish would gain another goal to keep their lead, but this time Wrobleski was able to drive up the left side for a Hawk goal, putting the teams just a point from each other. The Lady Bulldogs were quick to answer with their own goal, and while the Hawks kept their cleats to the ground, it wasn't enough to stop Whitefish from gaining another goal to put the score 6-3. The teams would go back and forth upping their already tough defense, but with only five minutes left Whitefish was able to get another goal. While the Hawks tried to answer back they weren't able, and with only seconds left, the Lady Bulldogs were able to get past the Hawk keeper for their last goal.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game for us. Whitefish is the defending state champ, but I was surprised how well we did," said head coach Nick Lawyer. "Going into this Friday's game against Columbia Falls (at Columbia Falls), we are going to work on conceding fewer goal kicks and doing a better job with taking our goal kicks. We're going to continue to work on technical skill development and our ability to give and receive passes."

Out of 43 shots, keeper McGillis saved seven. The Hawks had nine shots and scored three goals.

WHITEFISH 7,

THOMPSON FALLS 1

The Blue Hawks then had their chance at the Whitefish Bulldogs, falling 7-1.

Within the first three minutes, Whitefish came out gaining the first goal. Thompson wouldn't be able to answer back and the Bulldogs would find the goal again quickly, putting Whitefish up 2-0 early in the game. The Hawks would up their defense and would keep these the only goals in the first half.

Coming back from the half, the Bulldogs were able to find the left side of the goal opened for a swift shot, putting the score three to zero. Whitefish would find the goal once more before Hawk Liam Pallister was able to score the lone goal for Thompson, by crashing the goal and staying with the shot to see it find the back of the net. With less than 10 minutes of game time left, the Bulldogs were able to sneak past Hawk keeper Jacob Howell for another goal. While Thompson tried they were unable to answer with their own goal, and with just minutes left Whitefish was able to get their last goal, putting the score seven to one.

"One thing that was a clear positive was that this season we have typically been a first half team and this game we played better in the second half. We made some adjustments at half time and it was good to see those adjustments pay off," head coach Michael Scharfe said.