Boys lose 2-1, girls win 6-0
By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Lockwood High School soccer in Billings traveled to Big Sky to play the Lone Peak High School Big Horns. The Lions’ boys challenged the Big Horns in the first game of the afternoon, almost achieving a shutout until a goal by the Big Horns in the final quarter of the game, and the Lone Peak girls dominated the Lions in a 6-0 shutout.
The first half of the boys game saw Lone Peak trying to contain powerful midfielders and forwards as the ball traveled across the field changing possession. Two minutes before the first half closed, Lockwood junior Kryan Oliszczak scored, despite efforts by Big Horn senior keeper Oliver McGuire to slow down the ball.
The score remained 1-0 until the final 20 minutes of the game, when Lockwood junior Javier Mira struck a ball with his right foot into the back of the net. From there, the energy seemed to shift as the Big Horns applied further pressure in the midfield to maintain and retake possession from saves and punts by McGuire.Contributions by senior Anshu Ramesh, sophomore Elijah Harder, sophomore Ty Mittelstaedt and junior Keegan Luchini to receive and distribute the ball from the center of the field resulted in the remainder of the game being played in Lockwood’s half. With four minutes to spare, junior Dudley Davis sent a ball soaring from the penalty arc into the left side of the net, whizzing past the Lions’ keeper.
The Big Horns would have a short window to attempt a comeback, though, and were unable to do so as the Lions worked the ball up the field. The score closed with a 2-1 score and 23 shots on goal by the Big Horns.
Junior captain Sidney Morris described disappointment in the game’s final score, but noted that the team is looking forward to its next match to come back stronger.
“You can never blame it on anybody … we lost as a whole team and we’re gonna bounce back in the next game,” Morris said. He noted that the boys entered the second half on a positive note and were ready to have fun, something that likely translated to opportunities on Lockwood’s goal.
“I feel like when we’re having more fun, we tend to play better. So we just tried to loosen up and play our game,” Morris said. He said the team is reaching a point where players have learned about each other’s style and is excited to see the team get there and continue working toward playoffs.
Girls handle Lions with ease
Throughout the first half of the girls’ game, Lone Peak put the Lockwood keeper, junior Sam Soapes, to the test. After numerous saves, the Big Horn offensive strategy clicked into place through a short pass from sophomore Maeve McCrae to senior captain Maddie Wilcynski. In two touches and a shot past Soapes, Wilcynski put the Big Horns in the lead with 13 minutes left in the first half.
The score wouldn’t stay at 1-0 for long, as sophomore Zoe Luchini collected and fought for the ball at left midfield. She finally got her chance to finish off a pass from McCrae, and sent a shot from top left of the box all the way into the right side of the goal. A third goal, struck just in front of the corner flag by senior Hana Mittelstaedt, curved and bounced in for a 3-0 lead. Further goals by Wilcynski and sophomore Lola Morris, including a Morris goal off a free kick outside the penalty box, put the final score at 6-0.
Senior Poppy Towle also worked the ball up the field from her defensive position, dribbling past defenders and distributing the ball to the center of the field.
Senior captains Wilcynski and Harper Morris talked about how much fun it was to see the team work together.
“The energy from the team was so good,” Wilcysnki told EBS. “We’re also putting [together] everything we’ve practiced.”
Morris noted that the team had worked on the little passes to get around defense, taking shots closer to goal and knowing where teammates are on the field. The captains were excited to see that work come together during the game. With that win secured, the girls are looking ahead to home matches against Park High School on Oct. 2 and against Laurel High School for Homecoming on Oct. 9, two tough contenders.
