Badger girls rebound with win at Kellogg
Pictured from left to right are Prairie Plaster, Morgan Swanson and Makayla Mierke, helping lead the Badger girls in a nonleague friendly against Stillwater Christian of Montana. Photo by Mandi Bateman
Photo by Mandi Bateman Bonners Ferry's Prarie Plaster, right, fends off a Stillwater Christian opponent to gain possession in a recent home match.
Photo by Mandi Bateman Badger keeper Emily Sanchez starts the offense with a goal click bomb in the Badgers' friendly against a solid opponent from Kalispell.
The Bonners Ferry Girls Soccer team traveled to St. Maries and Kellogg last week, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Lumberjacks before rebounding with a convincing 5-0 victory over the Wildcats.
Not many highlights from St. Maries to report, the girls fell behind in the first three minutes then conceded two more goals before halftime to trail 3-0 at the break. Play improved somewhat in the second half but the Badgers were unable to mount any serious scoring opportunities and suffered their first loss of the season.
Two days later in Kellogg was a completely different scenario. Just 40 seconds into the contest freshman Makayla Mierke converted a rebounded shot from freshman Holly Ansley to put the Badgers up quickly. Seniors Jorryn Bennett and Kassy Skeen combined in the fifth minute, with Skeen’s pass nicely setting up Bennett to make the score 2-0. Ansley scored in the 13th minute off another assist from Skeen, and freshman Morgan Swanson scored her first goal in the 16th minute with Ansley getting the assist, making the score 4-0 in favor of the Badgers which stood until halftime.
Junior midfielder Falisha Elliston finished off the scoring with an unassisted goal early in the second half, and the Badgers coasted to the 5-0 victory.
The win left Bonners Ferry with a 2-1 Intermountain League record. Having outstanding games were the goalkeeping duo of junior Emily Blackmore and sophomore Tianna Keller, who both played one half each in goal to help record the shutout.
Bonners Ferry hosted Stillwater Christian of Kalispell on Saturday Aug. 26, and came out on the short end of a 2-0 decision. The visiting Cougars punched one across in the 22nd minute to take a 1-0 halftime lead and thoroughly outplayed the Badgers in the first 40 minutes. The Badgers’ play greatly improved in the second half but they were unable to generate many scoring chances, and a late Stillwater goal made the final 2-0 in favor of the visitors.
Having standout games for the Badgers were juniors Sydney Watt and Falisha Elliston, and sophomore defender Tianna Keller and freshman defender Lily Blackmore.
The Lady Badgers’ next home game will be Saturday, Sept. 9, against Kellogg with kickoff slated for noon.