SPORTS

Senior, West topple CMR, GFH soccer squads

Tribune Staff

It was a collectively tough day on the pitch for the Great Falls High and C.M. Russell High boys’ and girls’ soccer teams Saturday at Siebel Soccer Complex, suffering losses to Billings West and Billings Senior, respectively.

The Rustler girls surrendered two late goals to fall 2-0 to the Broncs and the West girls topped the Bison 5-0 in the early morning matches, while the Senior boys edged CMR 3-2 and the West boys downed GFH 4-2 behind a strong first half in the afternoon.

The CMR boys (1-3-2) took the lead heading into intermission at 1-0 in its match with the Broncs (4-1-1), with junior captain Braden Stremcha netting a score on an assist from Payton Cochran, but Senior stormed back for three goals in the second half, booting a score with about 10 minutes left to provide the difference.

“For us to play as well as we did and to not come away with any points (in the standings) is disappointing,” CMR head coach Kumal LaCasse said. “Senior is right up there with Bozeman as far as top teams in the (Eastern AA) … I’m really proud of my lads for stepping up to the challenge and staying with it.”

The Rustlers received a second-half goal from another captain Corbin Merchant on another assist from Cochran, but an injury to starting keeper Colton Rasmussen didn’t help matters, LaCasse said.

“Not taking anything from our backup goalie, he put in the work,” LaCasse said. “It’s tough on anyone to come in cold.”

The return of captain Joe LaCasse, who suffered a thigh injury last week, in the backline gave the Rustlers a boost, coach LaCasse said, and Bridger Brady also played well defensively.

LaCasse said it was good to see his team compete toe-to-toe with a strong team in Senior.

“We are one pass, one tackle, and one shot from being in the mix,” LaCasse said. “When it’s all said and done we’re just missing … we’ll continue to work hard and put our best foot forward.”

The GFH boys (0-5-1) had a poor start to their match to Billings West, surrendering the four first-half goals, but senior Hayden Van Son netted a pair of scores in a second half which head coach Steve Groshelle said was the Bison’s best 40 minutes of the season to date.

“At halftime we had a talk and we came out as a completely different team,” Groshelle said. “We kept possession basically all of the second half and had shot after shot and we had some other good chances (along with Van Son’s scores). The stuff we’ve been working on all year was working.”

Van Son booted a score in the 47th minute on a corner kick from Zek Herrera, before scoring again with eight minutes left on a free-kick assist from Zach Langle.

The Bears got on the board just four minutes in on a score from Paul Ashmore, while Alex Michaelson, Lukas Hutchinson and Bryson Stein all registered goals in the first half to pull away for good.

The Bison, however, were only outshout by West 18-13, and Groshelle said it’s just a matter of his team putting together a full 80 minutes moving forward.

“We need to keep up (how GFH played in the second half) and move on,” he said. “If we can do that, it’ll be a fun season … being a thin team, it’s good to see them come together and hopefully we can continue to do that.”

The Rustler girls (0-4-2) played tight with Senior for a majority of the match, but surrendered a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes to fall 2-0.

CMR head coach Willie Pyette said the Rustlers put together a solid game on the defensive end but were unable to seal the deal on the other end.

“We played well defensively but couldn’t finish,” Pyette said. “But I was really pleased with our defensive effort.”

Olivia Abdallah netted both goals for the Broncs, scoring in the 59th minute to put Senior up for good on an assist from Blair Stapleton before booting another one home with seven minutes to play on a Paige Hatzenbihler feed.

“Senior is a really good team,” Pyette said. “They finished on a direct kick and we pressed and tried to tie and got a little out of position (on the second goal). But I was happy with the overall team effort.”

Pyette said the Rustlers continue to gain valuable experience, and picking up the point with in the tie with West on Friday was big.

“I think we’re getting better as we go along,” he said. “We responded well and we play four games in seven days coming up, and we’re excited.”

The GFH girls (2-4-0) fell behind big early in the loss to West, surrendering three first-half goals before ultimately falling 5-0.

Nagging injuries to the likes of All-State performer Marissa Meyer and forward Quinn Mora, as well as goalkeepers Jorgie Hawthorne and Sarah Conway certainly haven’t helped matters, and head coach TJ IronBear has missed the last two games due to illness.

“I guess we’ve just got to trust some of our young players to step up,” IronBear said of the team’s injuries. “It’s time for us to trust them to step up where it’s needed.”

IronBear said although he was unable to attend the contest with West, his assistants said the team’s effort and spirits were high.

“We didn’t play well but we played hard,” IronBear said. “They definitely kept going even as the points were piling up, which is always positive out of a loss.”

Raquel Jiminez registered three goals and an assist for the Bears in the victory, Maia Wetzel tallied one score on top of an assist while Melissa Dugger booted the other score.

BOYS

Billings West 4, Great Falls 2

Billings West 4 0 — 4

Great Falls 0 2 — 2

West: Paul Ashmore (Lukas Hutchinson) 4:00

West: Alex Michaelson 11:00

West: Hutchinson 27:00

West: Bryson Stein (Caden Satrom) 36:00

GF: Hayden Van Son (Jack Anderegg) 47:00

GF: Van Son (Zachary Langel) 72:00

Billings Senior 3, CMR 2

Senior 0 3 -- 3

CMR 1 1 -- 2

CMR - Braden Stremcha (Payton Cochran); Corbin Merchant (Cochran).

Senior - no stats available.

GIRLS

Billings West 5, Great Falls 0

Billings West 3 2 — 5

Great Falls 0 0 — 0

BW: Maia Wetzel (Amaya Winkler), 15:00

BW: Raquel Jiminez, 25:00

BW: Jiminez (Tailor Anne Young) 30:00

BW: Melissa Dugger (Jiminez), 42:00

BW: Jiminez (Wetzel), 60:00

Billings Senior 2, Great Falls CMR 0

Senior 0 2 — 2

CMR 0 0 — 0

Sen: Olivia Abdallah (Blair Stapleton), 59:00.

Sen: Abdallah (Paige Hatzenbihler), 73:00.