BILLINGS – Junior forward Morgan Ferestad scored in the 75th minute to set a new Class A single-season scoring record and give Billings Central the Eastern A title Saturday in a 3-3 draw with Belgrade.
Ferestad’s 34th goal of the season breaks a tie with former Central star Allie Lucas, who scored 33 goals in 2013. Helena Capital’s Heather Olsen holds the all-class record with 37 goals in 1996.
Ferestad now has 87 career goals, 14 shy of the all-class career record set by Whitefish’s Elizabeth Pitman from 1998-2001.
Central needed at least a draw with Belgrade to assure themselves of the title. The Rams took the lead in the 18th minute, but the Panthers equalized two minutes later to send it 1-1 into halftime.
Belgrade’s Hayden Cade gave the Panthers the lead early in the second half, before Central’s Zoie Althoff once again tied it with a left-footed goal with 13 minutes to play. Ferestad’s finish put the Rams up 3-2, before Belgrade tied it one more time in the 77th minute.
Central and Laurel each finished 10-1-1 in the regular season, and 4-1-1 in the Eastern A, but Central won the tiebreaker thanks to a better goal differential in head-to-head matchups. Central beat Laurel 2-0 on Sept. 20, while Laurel beat the Rams 1-0 on Thursday.
The Rams will host Corvallis in the first round of the State A girls playoffs next Saturday, Oct. 13. Laurel will travel to the North’s top seed Columbia Falls, while Belgrade will travel to the South’s top seed Missoula Loyola.
