Whitefish girls upend Lockwood for trip to chipper
Oct. 22—WHITEFISH — Whitefish knew Lockwood was a tough semifinal draw, but the Bulldogs neutralized the Lions' top scorer and cruised to a 5-2 win at Smith Fields on Saturday, earning their third Class A final appearance in four years.
"Going into it, we knew they'd work really hard off the wall and they did," Whitefish girls coach Roland Benedict said. "And they have a better goalkeeper than Billings. Kennady Krebs is fantastic and they have the leading goal scorer in the state, and so for us, those are the key components. Win the physical battle and try to mitigate chances for Meadow Mahlmeister. We believe we can score on anyone and we did. She (Mahlmeister) had lots of opportunities but did not score in the game."
Mahlmeister, a freshman, scored 31 goals this fall, most in the state. She served the corner kick that Ella Krugler put in the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.
"If you do that against a player like that, you can win the game, especially if you have the ability to score and create chances," Benedict said. "And we did. So proud of the group. They got it done."
Whitefish's Isabelle Cooke scored first, and after Lockwood tied it, Charlize Ullrich scored on a penalty kick to reclaim the Bulldogs' lead. They led 3-1 at the half after Sadie Olson added a goal in the 37th minute.
Taysia Walters got the Lions within one goal in the second half, but they would get no closer. Olivia Genovese and Delaney Smith scored two minutes apart late to give Whitefish some breathing room.
Whitefish last won a Class A title in 2006, and were in the 2020 and 2022 championship games.
"Happy to be in the final," Benedict said. "We talk about that every year. The goal of the season is to give yourself a chance to win a state title and it's never guaranteed. Last year we played well enough to win that game and didn't. You gotta give yourself a chance to be in that game. "And then from there, it's one week of a season that matters and we're gonna start preparing next week."
Lockwood 1 1 — 2
Whitefish 3 2 — 5
WF — Isabelle Cooke (Delaney Smith) 5:00
L — Ella Krugler (Meadow Mahlmeister) 18:00
WF — Charlize Ullrich 33:00
WF — Sadie Olson 37:00
L — Taysia Walters 44:00
WF — Olivia Genovese (Olson) 77:00
WF — Smith (Anna Guzman) 79:00
Shots — Lockwood 10, WF 24. Goalie saves — Lockwood 14, WF 8 (Norah Schmidt). Corner kicks — Lockwood 3, WF 8.
