Depth, balance keep 'Dogs perfect
Whitefish boys (12-0) entertain Billings Central in first round of Class A soccer playoffs
The Daily Inter Lake
Winning never gets old for athletes and coaches, but it certainly numbs fans.
The Whitefish High School boys soccer team finished its regular season with a 12-0 record while running the table in six Northern A games.
Fourth-year Whitefish coach O'Brien Byrd and his Bulldogs have treasured each victory, but win after win has been met with ho-hum reactions by Whitefish's supporters and opposition alike.
"Everybody picks up the paper on Wednesday morning or Friday morning or Sunday morning - the day after games - to see if we've lost yet," Byrd said. "It's just the nature of the beast."
According to Byrd, Whitefish fans embraced his past teams, which had to scrap for each win. But this year's squad has only been challenged a few times.
"Now it's just kind of lethargic, which is sad because everybody's just looking forward to us losing our first game," Byrd said.
Whitefish opens the Class A state playoffs at 4 p.m. today by entertaining Billings Central. If the Bulldogs suffer their first loss, it will also be their last in the single-elimination tournament.
"Some actually think that maybe it would have been better if we lost earlier in the season," Byrd said. "Now we're just looking over our shoulder and the players just feel the pressure. They wanted to be undefeated so badly the whole season and now they have to be - there's a big difference."
If the Bulldogs win three more games and capture the state title, it will mark the second perfect season in Whitefish history. The 2002 squad went 15-0.
"What this team has accomplished is special," Byrd said. "I mean, it does not happen in this state. It was unheard of before it happened in 2002."
Four years ago, Whitefish had 15 seniors, most of whom were starters. But Byrd took the Bulldogs to the state final in 2003 - his first season with Whitefish - even though they returned only two players.
As good as the Bulldogs are this year, they could be downright scary next fall.
"That's the beauty of it - potentially, we're returning a minimum of seven starters out of 11," Byrd said.
If Byrd's figures are uncertain its because nearly every Whitefish player has started at some point this season. The Bulldogs are the deepest team Byrd has ever coached.
"Everybody on this team has seen serious action and we've had to count on everybody," Byrd said. "This year, if we're going to win state, it's going to be a team effort. We're not going to lean on one individual, we're not going to lean or two or three and it's not going to be because of individual brilliance."
But Whitefish has plenty of stars. Junior forward Preston Taylor is second in Montana's Class A in goals scored with 19 and points (two for each goal, one for each assist) with 43. Ian Hosek has six goals and 15 points. Taylor and Hosek were merely solid JV players last year.
Taylor didn't think he would lead Whitefish in scoring, let alone be second in the state.
"I was pretty surprised," Taylor said. "I didn't know in the beginning of the season how much playing time I'd get because this has been the first year I've been on varsity."
Whitefish has five of the state's top 10 points leaders, including Jonas Magstadt, Franz Hermsdorf, Alex Konopatzke and Giuliano Tassara Levy.
"I knew a couple of them would be special players, but you never can predict the development in certain players," Byrd said. "There have been many players this year who have totally exceeded expectations."
Four of those players are foreign exchange students. Hermsdorf (Germany), Tassara Levy (Chile), Arttu Kuuppelomaki (Finland) and Ryutaro Hisada (Japan) have all made impacts for Whitefish. Hermsdorf led the state in scoring before he tore his right ACL last month and was sidelined for the rest of the season.
Byrd said an example of Whitefish's depth is that the Bulldogs haven't faded in Hermsdorf's absence. Magstadt scored three goals and registered five assists in Whitefish's last three games. He's just one player who rose to the occasion when the Bulldogs endured injuries and suspensions.
"This year, we've got such an unbelievably tight, close-knit group of individuals," Byrd said. "The chemistry is incredible. It's 'I want to be the guy to make that tackle because I want to do it for my team.'"
Senior goalkeeper Shane Dowaliby played varsity last year when the Bulldogs placed second in Northern A and lost to Corvallis in the first round of the playoffs after beating them 4-0 earlier in the season.
Dowaliby said last year's team was talented, but struggled to score goals and win important games. He's still not sure why.
"I think our team just really kind of clicks," Dowaliby said. "We've all known each other forever and we all get along really well and that helps a lot because, if you're friends with the people you're playing with, you're going to play really well and you're going to trust them."
Some teams have too much individual talent to jell as a unit, but that hasn't been a problem at Whitefish.
"I don't get a sense of jealousy in the team, I don't get a sense of ego or showboating, I don't get a sense of self-centered play," Byrd said. "Nobody's trying to be Pele out there. That's the thing that's been working for the team and that's been working since day one."
Knowing they can win despite mistakes keeps the Bulldogs loose.
"Mostly everyone on our team can score goals, so if somebody has a bad game, somebody else will most likely have a really good game," Taylor said. "We just have depth because everyone on our team can play any position and anyone who comes in makes an impact."
Dowaliby said he and fellow goalkeeper David Hobbs have enjoyed playing with leads all season.
"Whenever you have a two or three-goal lead, the pressure's off of you," Dowaliby said. "It's definitely nice to not have all the pressure put on the goalie and the defense."
But Whitefish's defense, including junior Tyler Gardner, is as stout as its offense is potent and the entire team is focused.
"We celebrated the 12-0 (record) for that weekend and then Monday we just said 'The 12-0 doesn't matter right now, we're 0-0.'" Dowaliby said. "All the slates are wiped clean and we're all on an even playing level right now and the other record doesn't really matter."
The Bulldogs must stay grounded to avoid a letdown against Billings Central. Whitefish drubbed the Rams 13-3 when the teams met earlier this year.
"Right now, we're taking it one game at a time and if we get the 'W' in double overtime or penalty kicks, we'll be the happiest team in the state because we've got one more chance," Byrd said. "And the guys, to their credit, are keeping level-headed and they do realize that this could be their last game if they don't get it right."
Today
First Round
Boys
Billings Central at Whitefish
4 p.m.
Records - Billings Central (1-9-2); Whitefish (12-0-0)
Goals scored - Billings Central 9, Whitefish 70
Goals allowed - Billings Central 41, Whitefish 11
Leading scorers - Billings Central (K. Jackson 2 goals, 1 assist); Whitefish (Preston Taylor 19 goals, 5 assists; Franz Hermsdorf 13 goals, 1 assist; Giuliano Tassara Levy 8 goals, 3 assists; Jonas Magstadt 5 goals 8 assists; Alex Konapatzke 8 goals, 1 assist)
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Columbia Falls at Belgrade
Noon
Records - Columbia Falls (6-5-1); Belgrade (1-7-4)
Goals scored - Belgrade 16; Columbia Falls 37
Goals allowed - Belgrade 31; Columbia Falls 17
Leading scorers - Belgrade (C. Facque 5 goals, 1 assist); Columbia Falls (Dustin Gibson 8 goals, 3 assists; D.J. Stoneman 6 goals 4 assists; Jonathan Torres 6 goals, 2 assists; Travis Pete 5 goals, 2 assists)
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Libby at Hamilton
1 p.m.
Records - Libby (3-5-3); Hamilton (11-1-0)
Goals scored - Libby 16; Hamilton 54
Goals allowed - Libby 15, Hamilton 7
Leading scorers - Libby (Riley Hoyer 7 goals, 0 assists; Christian Byrn 4 goals, 1 assist); Hamilton (B. Syme 22 goals, 7 assists; L. Swartout 12 goals, 2 assists)
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Corvallis at Livingston
11 a.m.
Records - Corvallis (9-2-1); Livingston (9-2-0)
Goals scored - Corvallis 32; Livingston 29
Goals allowed - Corvallis 14; Livingston 5
Leading scorers - Corvallis (N. Lee 6 goals, 2 assists; D. Gates 5 goals, 4 assists); Livingston (J. Tohtz 7 goals, 2 assists)
Girls
2 p.m.
Laurel at Whitefish
Records - Laurel (5-7-0); Whitefish (9-2-0)
Goals scored - Laurel 28; Whitefish 34
Goals allowed - Laurel 45; Whitefish 6
Leading scorers - Laurel (K. Muir 14 goals, 4 assists; L. Day 8 goals, 6 assists); Whitefish (Alex White 10 goals, 8 assists; Jen Joern 6 goals, 4 assists; Kelsey McCluskey 7 goals, 2 assists; Carly Lengstorf 7 goals, 0 assists)
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Corvallis at Belgrade
2 p.m.
Records - Corvallis (4-6-0); Belgrade (7-2-3)
Goals scored - Corvallis 20; Belgrade 28
Goals allowed - Corvallis 35; Belgrade 7
Leading scorers - Corvallis (A. Schlecht 11 goals, 0 assists); Belgrade (J. Greany 9 goals, 1 assist; K. Caracciolo 5 goals, 2 assists)
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Columbia Falls vs. Billings Central
11 a.m.
At Rocky Mountain College
Records - Columbia Falls (8-4-0); Billings Central (7-5-0)
Goals scored - Columbia Falls 42; Billings Central 36
Goals allowed - Columbia Falls 13; Billings Central 17
Leading scorers - Columbia Falls (Ashley Horine 13 goals, 4 assists; Amber Lampman 9 goals, 5 assists; Beth Karper 7 goals, 7 assists; Jessica Boyer 4 goals, 5 assists); Billings Central (A. Beckers 15 goals, 2 assists; L. Frazier 6 goals, 4 assists)
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Libby at Hamilton
p.m.
Records - Libby (4-6-0); Hamilton (11-0-1)
Goals scored - Libby 14; Hamilton 54
Goals allowed - Libby 27; Hamilton 9
Leading scorers - Libby (NA); Hamilton (N. Crane 13 goals, 5 assists; M. Jones 10 goals, 10 assists)