Bison, Russell boys lose on pitch

Senior forward Chris Likenbach carded a hat trick and led the Bozeman Hawks to a 5-1 victory over C.M. Russell High in an Eastern AA boys’ soccer match Friday at Siebel Soccer Park.

Ryan Vanderwal and Wes Robbins added goals for the Hawks, but CMR head coach Joel Marinaccio was more impressed by his team in the second half.

“It was a much better half,” the Rustlers mentor said. “We found something that we were much more comfortable with, pushed the tempo a little bit more, helped us out a ton, and had more opportunities on goal.”

Marinaccio was also happy with his senior All-State keeper, Dan Enseleit.

“It took fantastic shots for them to score,” Marinaccio added. “Bozeman is great at fantastic shots. Dan didn’t give up a cheap goal tonight, and that’s all you can expect from your goalkeeper. The defense didn’t give them a cheap goal tonight. Everyone played a complete game in the back. Bozeman always gets their chances, but Dan was definitely solid.”

Nathan Painter scored the Rustlers’ only tally late in the second half, booming in a 40-yard kick from near midfield.

“That’s the difference between an All-State keeper and a non-All State keeper,” Marinaccio said. “Dan will make those saves that you don’t expect a keeper to make, and we shot a ball that Dan would have tapped over the bar for an easy save, and it went in. That’s the difference between goalkeepers in this game. We just didn’t test him enough to get our goals.”

Meanwhile, Billings West was beating Great Falls High 4-1.

“Hopefully every time we lose a game, it’s a learning experience for us,” Bison head coach Lalo Cabrales said. “They played their best; hopefully they come back tomorrow and play well.”

The Bison got their goal in the 70th minute from Zeke Herrera.

No scoring was available for the Golden Bears.

Saturday, the Bison will face Bozeman while CMR hosts West. Both matches start at 1 p.m.