BILLINGS — Postseason play in Class A soccer began Tuesday with a play-in match, and Class AA concludes its regular season this weekend.
So, yes, the homestretch is upon us. As boys and girls soccer teams begin the knockout phase of their seasons, here’s a look at some of the themes that developed during the past couple of months.
Whitefish boys are lurking
While Columbia Falls (11-0-1) in the North, Stevensville (11-1-0) in the South and Billings Central (12-0-0) in the East controlled their respective divisions with great seasons, the Whitefish boys put up an impressive resume in the background of those other teams’ successes.
The defending state champions graduated seven seniors from last year’s team that recaptured the top spot after Columbia Falls interrupted the Bulldogs’ four-year championship run from 2018-2021. But teams with such pedigree don’t fall very far.
Keep this in mind as the playoffs push on: Under first-year coach Eric Sawtelle, Whitefish (9-2-1) has competed very well against all the division leaders. The Bulldogs have a 1-1 draw against Columbia Falls (after losing 4-2 in the first meeting); they defeated Stevensville 5-4 in the team’s lone meet-up; and they narrowly lost to Billings Central 2-1 on opening weekend in Billings in a rematch of last year’s state championship match, won 1-0 by Whitefish.
As the playoffs begin, Billings Central (under its own first-year coach Sumali Bilechi) and Columbia Falls, the two unbeatens, are in one bracket, while Stevensville and Whitefish are in the other. Upsets are always possible in the playoffs, especially in soccer where one odd bounce of the ball can change a match’s trajectory. But the playoff field looks interesting, indeed.
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Two unbeatens in girls Eastern A
The Laurel girls finished the regular season undefeated, yet still found themselves in second place in the Eastern A and a postseason play-in match on Tuesday.
How did that happen?
Well, the Locomotives finished the regular season with four draws among their 12 matches, and all four of those occurred in conference play. Only one other team in Class A, boys or girls, had more than two ties, and that was the Libby boys with three. (The Class AA Great Falls girls also finished with four ties.)
The Billings Central Rams went undefeated themselves, winning the Eastern A with an 8-0-2 mark (10-0-2 overall). Those two ties, of course, were against Laurel.
At this time of year, the Locomotives will have to find a way to score that extra goal. They did that Tuesday, but in overtime, beating Lone Peak 4-1 after being tied 1-1 after regulation. Going to penalty kick shootouts in the postseason, which is the next step after overtime, is hard on a coach’s nerves, not to mention the players and fans.
Back with a vengeance?
When the Billings West boys knocked off Missoula Hellgate in last year’s semifinals, it marked the first time since 2014 that the Knights would not be playing for a Class AA championship.
The loss also ended a run of seven state titles in those nine years.
It appears the Knights, who finished third in the Western AA regular season in 2023, might have taken that setback to heart. They’ve been a juggernaut this season, scoring 78 goals in 13 games. With one regular-season match to go, Hellgate’s +74 goal differential is twice as large as any other Western AA team and dwarfs Eastern AA leaders in that category Billings Senior (+51) and Bozeman Gallatin (+43).
With Brady Reed (23 goals), Tim Scott (12) and Miles Shefloe (12) the Knights are the only team with three double-digit goal scorers. (Bozeman Gallatin’s Ezekiel Leighton is the top goal-scorer with 27.)
And, according to the statistics on wallsoccer.net, the Knights have 56 assists on their 75 goals. That’s a lot of teamwork going on.
Bozeman girls keep on keeping on
Speaking of teamwork, the Bozeman girls are solid in all areas of the pitch. The Hawks’ 11-0-2 regular-season record proves that.
The defending champions began the season with their prolific attacking players — Lucy Al-Chokhacy, Maya Bossenbrook and Macey Primrose — intact, and they had returning goalkeeper extraordinaire Karly Jordan in the fold, as well.
And the team picked up where it left off.
Al-Chokhacy, Bossenbrook and Primrose combined for 31 goals last season, half of the Hawks’ total. They also had 28 assists, including 15 from Primrose, which tied a program record for most in a season.
This year, the trio has 36 of the team’s 59 goals and has 22 assists.
Bossenbrook’s 17 goals (so far) rank her fourth on the program’s single-season list, just two away from second-place Averie Collins, who scored 19 in both 2013 and 2014. (Alexa Coyle, in 2016, scored 29 goals.) Bossenbrook’s 40 points (two points for a goal, one point for an assist) is the fifth-best offensive season for a Hawk, and her 104 career points puts her fourth on that list, with room to move up.
The Hawks have scored 59 goals, just three shy of last season’s 62-goal output, and on par with some of their best offensive seasons. The 80 goals scored in 2016 might be tough to top, however.
Jordan, meanwhile, has helped the Hawks with one of their best — if not the best — defensive seasons, as well. Following her 2023 season when she posted 12 shutouts, Jordan has allowed just two goals thus far, which has the team on pace for the fewest goals allowed in a season. That came in 2001, when Bozeman saw just four goals hit the back of its net in what was then its third championship season.
The number that likely will matter most to the Hawks, though, is 9. That would mark the number of program championships won should the Hawks be the last team standing on Nov. 2.
