2 days Ago By Chris Peterson 406 MT Sports
HELENA Missoula Hellgate and Helena Capital weren't necessarily expected to be undefeated and playing for first place in the Western AA conference. But, that's where the Bruins and Knights found themselves Tuesday evening, when they met for a Western AA matchup of unbeaten teams at Northwest Park in Helena. Hellgate, which won four consecutive state championships prior to last season, when they were knocked out in the semifinal round, looks like a state title contender again following the 5-2 triumph over the Bruins.
Hellgate is now 5-0 and have outscored their opponents 34-2. "These kids are very, very good," Hellgate head coach Jay Anderson said. "I'm lucky to have the talent that I have on this team and they love the game of soccer.
They're just always playing. You know, screwing around for a half hour after practice and doing those little creative things that they mess around with and then they translate it to the game. "It's a pretty fun group to have.
" The Knights were going to have to get creative to score against a Capital boys soccer team that started the season 4-0, just as the Knights did, but hadn't conceded a goal yet. However, the Bruins haven't had to defend a team with Brady Reed and the senior was all over the place for the Knights. Not only did he find the back of the net in the first half, he assisted on three other goals, including two daggers in the second half that helped Hellgate salt away a 5-2 road win.
It would be easy to credit the offense, but Anderson said it had as much to do with Hellgate's work on the defensive end. "It was a very physical game," Anderson said. "(Capital) made it tough to defend (them).
They were a little more direct than we were so I thought our back line did a fantastic job of winning those headers out so they couldn't get a lot and they still got a couple of goals. Overall though, it was a good win." Senior forward Curtis Stevens scored six minutes into the match for the Knights.
It was the first of two goals for Stevens, who added another early in the second half. Miles Shefloe scored in the 10th minute, making it 2-0 Hellgate before Capital's Thomas Morley nailed a shot from beyond the box. Yet, Reed's goal sent Hellgate into intermission leading 3-1.
Stevens made it 4-1 Knights before Capital cut into the lead on a goal by Nate Wilcox. Hellgate wouldn't concede again though and secured an important result. "I'd say up until today, we kind of took the role of the underdog," Anderson said.
"Last year, we took third in conference. Capital and Glacier were ahead of us last year so that was definitely motivation to play really well against those tougher opponents that we have." For the Bruins, with just two starters returning, one of which is still out due with an injury, there are no complaints about a 4-1 start.
Head coach Stefan Wall also added that Tuesday's match was the kind CHS needed. "We are still trying to find our legs a little bit in how we play," Wall said. "But I feel like we are fairly multiple.
Hellgate took us away from that a little bit, which was good. We needed that. That's the match we needed and that kind of battle was productive and we learned some stuff.
" "I think we're in good shape right now at this point in the season for where we should be," he added. "For us, it's just about getting better." The Bruins (4-1) will pay a visit to Missoula Sentinel on Saturday.
Hellgate (5-0) is alone in first in the Western AA and will host Helena High on Thursday. The Missoula Hellgate girls also won in Helena on Tuesday, knocking off the Bruin girls by a final score of 4-0..
