CMR boys' soccer sweeps Bison in crosstown series
C.M. Russell High freshman Kellen Borggard had an instant analysis after Tuesday’s crosstown boys’ soccer game.
“It was hot,” he said after the Rustlers routed Great Falls High 5-0 on a perfect bluebird day at Argo Field on the campus of the University of Great Falls.
Nobody was hotter than Borggard and fellow freshman Moses Roque, who both netted first-half goals to give CMR a 2-0 halftime lead that was never in much doubt when Roque fought off a couple defenders to win a ball at the edge of the box and then deposited it into the back of the goal in the 25th minute.
“We wanted to get an early lead and set the tempo so we could play our game,” said junior captain Braden Stremcha, who scored a pair of second-half goals for the Rustlers (2-3-2) and provided a constant threat from the wings.
Mission accomplished as Borggard’s goal came in the second minute when the ball banged around inside the box after a nice free kick from senior Nathan Painter.
“I just saw the ball and took my shot,” said Borggard, who notched his first-ever goal for the Rustlers.
Sophomore Seamus Jennings scored the other goal for CMR, which rode the backline of senior captain Joey LaCasse and jun ior Bridger Brady to maintain possession and stamp out any Bison threats.
“Our goals came from building off the backline,” Stremcha said.
It was a dominating performance as CMR controlled the lion’s share of the possession throughout the contest but particularly in the first half.
“It was a complete game,” CMR coach Kumal LaCasse said. “You usually say this or that (need work), but everything was just right in this game. There’s always things you can work on, but it was a complete performance.”
The Bison started to work their way into the game after Roque’s goal made it 2-0 as they possessed the ball and posed a consistent threat for the first 15 minutes of the second half.
“We had some good moments where we were passing and moving and possessing the ball,” said Great Falls High coach Steve Groshelle.
And then Jennings notched his goal as he forced a turnover inside the box, sidestepped a defender and walked the ball in the goal in the 64th minute just moments after CMR’s Nathan Painter rattled the crossbar off a magnificent cross from Payton Cochran.
Things quickly fell apart for the Bison (0-6-1) after Jennings’ goal.
“We then had our veteran guys trying to take the game on themselves,” Groshelle said. “And that doesn’t work. We had a bad start and a bad end, but we were pretty good in the middle. Again, just half a game.”
Stremcha scored in the 64th and 79th minute, with the first coming off a sweet pass from Merchant.
“I am very happy for my seniors,” coach LaCasse said of keeper Colton Rasmussen, Corbin Merchant, Painter and his son Joey LaCasse after the Rustlers got the season sweep of the Bison.