Great Falls High soccer sweeps crosstown, sets hope for the season
It was a Bison sweep Thursday night, as the Great Falls High girls’ and boys’ soccer teams picked up Eastern AA victories over crosstown rival C.M. Russell High at Memorial Stadium.
Senior Emma Pachek’s second-half hat-trick lifted the Bison girls to the win, while Gavin Bebbington’s early scored proved the difference in a 1-0 boys’ victory.
Pachek’s first goal came in the 45th minute as she chased a through ball to the left side of the field and fired right to score on the right side. The striker found pay dirt just three minutes later, hitting a bending shot from left to right that just clipped the inside of the right post to bounce in.
Her third came as time ran down in the 75th minute to solidify the victory and help the Great Falls High girls move to 2-1 on the season, while the Rustlers fell to 0-3.
The Bison boys (1-2) controlled possession for much of the first half, with Bebbington booting an arcing free kick that bent around the Rustlers’ wall into the goal.
CMR came out firing in the second half, with Brody Stewart racing down for a shot on goal in the first minute, but the attempt was corralled by Great Falls High keeper Andrew Schoenen.
The Rustlers (0-3) continued to push the pace as time winded down looking for the equalizer, with Garret Bodily and Stewart connecting on shots that just missed the mark.
The Rustler girls face off with Bozeman High on Tuesday at Siebel Soccer Park at 3 p.m., with the boys starting up at 5.
The Bison girls take on Bozeman Gallatin at Siebel at 3 p.m. next Thursday, followed by the boys at 5.
Here's a look at the Bison and Rustlers pitch teams for the 2023 season.
Great Falls High girls
The Bison girls bring back copious experience in head coach Eric Fowell’s second season, returning nine seniors. Great Falls High opened up the season last week with a 7-0 victory over Belgrade before narrowly falling short to Billings Senior, 1-0.
“We’ve got really strong upper-class leadership, so the knowledge base and the skill base that we should bring into the season is tremendously huge as long as we can bring it to the field every game,” Fowell said.
Although they are led by a large senior group, it was a junior who put the Bison over the top in their first victory of the year. Addi Kynett knocked in three goals against the Panthers last week and assisted on another as Great Falls High rolled to a win.
“(Kynett’s) hustle and work ethic in practice is second to none,” Fowell said. “She’s definitely come leaps and bounds since her freshman year and even sophomore year. With her knowledge of the game and the willingness to work at it, it shows and let’s hope it branches out even more from here.”
Senior Addie Slaughter returns following an all-conference season last year despite playing through a calf injury, bringing back a “tenacity” to the midfield, Fowell said.
“Her work ethic on and off the field is just tremendous and her awareness of situations is huge for us as far as getting the ball and moving the ball,” he said.
Senior goalkeeper Bella Pachek was also named all-conference a season ago.
“She picked up right where she left off,” Fowell said. “To have her back there as a senior is great.”
Senior striker Emma Pachek is the leading returning scorer for the Bison with five goals and an assist last year, while senior Sydney Graf returns after booting four scores and two assists.
Senior Jaiden Kirkhart helps lead the defensive back line for Great Falls High but is also highly effective on offense, scoring a goal in the win against Belgrade. Ryan Lackey is also a returning starter, joined by junior Breahnna Kingsland and sophomore Addison Kirkhart on the back line as well.
“We’ve put in a new formation and the biggest thing right now is the teamwork aspect of it and knowing where each other is that,” Fowell said.
CMR girls
The Rustlers are coached once again by mentor Steve Skaer, who led the team in 2020 and 2021 before assisting Kate Sisler last season.
CMR opened up the year with a pair of close losses, falling 3-1 to Belgrade before a 1-0 decision against Billings Senior.
“I feel good about our squad. It’s nice to get a couple of games going to see where you’re at,” Skaer said. “The group of girls is great. Since 2020, they’ve just been a joy to work with and having each other’s back. Just trying to develop that culture of always trying to compete and improve and finding value in the work you put in and controlling what you can.”
Lilli Skaer, the junior daughter of the head coach, is a returning all-conference player for CMR. She started the season on the back line as the Rustlers workshopped personnel in the opening games, but Coach Skaer said she could also see some time in the midfield and forward as well.
“She could slot in anywhere, so we’re going to try her at some different spots,” Coach Skaer said. “She’s just kind of a piece we can move all around.”
Junior Kahlen Liedle, who knocked in CMR’s first goal of the year against Belgrade, is one of the top scoring threats on the attack.
“She’s someone we try to look for as a target player up top,” Skaer said. “She’s got a pretty good leg on her to kick the ball and cross it over to get us some scoring opportunities.”
Senior Preslee Sowers is also an attacker in the midfield for the Rustlers.
“She’s kind of our link to get us up there, too, in our offensive-third, as well,” Skaer said.
Junior Shae Sweeney is back in goal as a second-year starting keeper for CMR.
“She’s just kind of our rock back there. She’s the one calling out what she sees to help get people in the right positions,” Skaer said.
Lexi Heggem helps lead the defensive back line as a senior along with junior Aislyn Holden and freshman Kenna Christensen. Junior returner Kanyon Bahnmiller is injured to start the season but the team hopes to see her return to the lineup at some point, Skaer said.
“We’re looking to make sure that we’re always trying to improve and never settling with being OK with where we’re at currently,” Skaer said. “We’re always looking to get better and better.”
Great Falls High boys
Head coach Ian Deal enters his third year as the varsity coach, and the Bison return a number of key performers from last year’s squad. Great Falls High dropped a close 1-0 match to Belgrade to start the season before falling 4-0 to defending state runner-up Billings Senior.
“I like to think every season we’re developing in some way and the results are something that will come,” Deal said. “It is very early in the season and there are some preseason nerves. Senior is very tough and they went to the (state final) last year, so we knew that was going to be a very tough game. It’s sometimes good to have something like that for the season because it wakes you up.”
Senior Ryan Harrington, also an All-State cross country and track runner, comes back after earning all-conference honors the past two seasons at midfield.
“He can run all day,” Deal said. “He’s a captain, so hopefully he can bring that kind of winning mentality to the team.”
Junior Gavin Bebbington, another all-conference performer, joins Harrington again as a midfielder.
“They’re the engine of our team because you win the battle in the midfield,” Deal said.
Juniors Dane Hager and Gabriel Zech help lead the offensive attack for Great Falls High, with the latter athlete returning from a knee injury suffered last season.
“We’ve got a nice forward line with some good guys up there who I’m hoping will start firing,” Deal said.
Senior Andrew Schoenen is back as the starting goalkeeper, and sophomore Houston Waddell is a “strong backup” if Shoenen is needed on the offensive attack, Deal said.
“We can throw Houston in goal if we need a ‘Hail Mary’ in a game where we can put Andrew up front as a striker,” Deal said. “(Schoenen is) a great keeper but he’s also a fantastic pitch player.”
The Bison are still searching for their best options and rotations on the back line, Deal said, with younger players taking over for several graduated seniors in that area.
“The last few years we’ve gotten stronger and gotten to a point where we believe in ourselves,” Deal said. “We believe we can compete with any team in the division, which was a huge hurdle for the mindset. Now, it’s just a case of if we can put the performance on the pitch that we know that we can produce.”
CMR boys
Michael Aunan comes into his second season as the Rustler head coach with a team that only lost a handful of players to graduation. CMR fell 10-1 to Senior in the opener but fought much closer in a 4-3 loss to Belgrade the following game last week.
“Overall, we’re really pleased about the progress of the boys, especially looking back from last year to this year,” Aunan said. “It’s been a lot of hard work and the boys have really responded to that.”
All-conference performer Connor Brost was the team’s leading scorer with three goals last season and will start in the midfield as a senior.
“He’s provided some much-needed speed and skill out there,” Aunan said.
Starting in the center midfield are juniors Colter Garpstead and Alex Reeves.
“They’ve had some good combination play and good speed there, doing all the things that we want. I don’t think I’ve taken them off the field this year,” Aunan said.
Senior Brayden Sundquist is also a key offensive player for the Rustlers, Aunan said, while freshmen Brody Stewart and Mason Boggs have also hopped right in the mix to contribute.
Sophomore Shane Thomas steps in as the starting goalkeeper and has shown a lot of progression under assistant coach Sara Kegel.
“He’s a smart kid and a big kid, which is always helpful to have out there,” Aunan said.
Micah Gonzalez and Garret Bodily return on the outside of CMR’s defensive line, joined by returner Cole Stuart, Jonah Hunt and Bryce Brown. Junior TyRease Hamilton was out of the first two games with an injury but will also figure prominently into the lineup upon return, Aunan said.
“I think we’ve really seen a huge improvement and growth we’ve seen out of these guys,” Aunan said. “We’re hitting the back of the net offensively, I think last year we scored seven goals all year and this year we’ve already (scored) four times. We are looking forward to and we’re happy with what we’ve seen. There’s areas of improvement, for sure, but the boys are embracing it whole-heartedly and are excited for the challenge going forward.”
Photos provided courtesy of Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours and Great Falls High School.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls High soccer teams sweep first crosstown series
