Valentine, Gilden lift Libby

Combine for five goals as Loggers drop Whitefish, 5-1

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH - It could very well be the best 1-2 punch in high school state soccer play this fall.

Jaime Gilden and Anna Valentine accounted for all the scoring Saturday as Libby downed Whitefish 5-1 in Northern A girls play.

Valentine had a hat trick by halftime with goals at 15, 30 and 38 minutes.

Gilden opened and closed the scoring for the Loggers with goals at 8 and 62 minutes.

"Anna Valentine definitely is a key player, a player to watch out for," Whitefish coach Erin Morrison said.

Natalie Gayner put Whitefish on the board with a goal at 75 minutes.

"We didn't come to play in the first half," Morrison said.

"Second half, we battled a lot better."

Whitefish outshot Libby 18-11 on goal, and led in corner kicks 5-4.

Audra Poppen had 15 keeper saves for Libby. Madisen Cross and Callie Marsh combined for five for Whitefish.

"They capitalized on all their shots," Morrison said of Libby.

"We had so many chances in the second half; nothing was going in for us. It wasn't our day. We still have another chance with them."

Whitefish, 3-1 league, 3-2-2 overall, plays at Libby on Oct. 10, the regular-season finale.

"Linnaea Keane had a good game," Morrison said.

"She did very well in the middle."

Keane is a 5-foot-3 sophomore midfielder.

Whitefish is back in action Tuesday with a home match versus Bigfork, 3 p.m.

Libby 4 1 - 5

Whitefish 0 1 - 1

LIBBY - Jaime Gilden, 8:00; Anna Valentine, 15:00; Valentine, 30:00; Valentine, 38:00; Gilden, 62:00.

WHITEFISH - Natalie Gayner (Meredith Reed), 75:00

Shots on goal - Libby 11, Whitefish 18

Corner kicks - Libby 4, Whitefish 5

Goalie saves - Libby 15 (Audra Poppen), Whitefish 5 (Madisen Cross 3, Callie Marsh 2)

Fouls - Libby 8, Whitefish 4

Cards - None

Boys

Whitefish 2, Libby 1

WHITEFISH - First-half goals by Travis Adams and Cody Ling were just enough as Whitefish knocked off the defending Class A state champions in a Northern A match.

Adams scored at 14 minutes and Ling at 40.

"In terms of the flow of the game, we had control over the first half, holding them to zero shots on goal," Whitefish coach O'Brien Byrd said. "We scored two goals, probably could have had another."

Whitefish center-mid Jack Steele left the match early in the second half with a 'serious knee injury," Byrd said.

"He's an important part of our team, not only positionally, but emotionally. There was a momentum shift after the injury. Libby had more chances."

The win puts Whitefish, 4-2-1, 3-0-1 league, on top of the conference. Libby falls to 6-2, 3-1-0.

Whitefish hosts Bigfork on Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Libby 0 1 - 1

Whitefish 2 0 - 2

LIBBY - NA, 60:00

WHITEFISH - Travis Adams (Jack Steele), 14:00; Cody Ling (Adams), 40:00.

Shots on goal - Libby 2, Whitefish 8

Corner kicks - Libby 0, Whitefish 0

Goalie saves - Libby 5 (Lewis Brossman), Whitefish 2 (Alex Whitaker)

Fouls - Libby 3, Whitefish 12