Girls suffer overtime loss in tournament play-in
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
On Saturday, Oct. 19, Lone Peak High School boys will host the Whitefish High School Bulldogs in the first round of the Montana Class A state tournament.
The Big Horns earned the second seed in the Class A eastern division, and the Bulldogs will look to defend their 2023 state title, entering with a No. 2 rank in the northern division.
“We want to win,” Lone Peak head coach Tony Coppola wrote in an email to EBS. “We are not ready for the season to end and are excited to host another playoff game. We hope that the community will come to the game and cheer us onto a victory against Whitefish.”
The game will begin at 12 p.m. Saturday at Lone Peak High School.
Laurel prevails in Big Horn girls’ first-ever tournament play-in
On Tuesday evening, the Lone Peak girls visited Laurel High School for a win-and-in tournament play-in.
The Big Horns and Locomotives had tied in both of their previous meetings this season.
The Locomotives jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first half, but Lone Peak junior captains Hana Mittelstaedt and Maddie Wilcynski wrote in an email to EBS that the Big Horns were determined to make a comeback.
“After many tactical plays and hard work, Harper Morris sent a cross to Zoe Luchini who found the back of the net for the team,” Mittelstaedt and Wilcynski wrote.
The score remained tied, 1-1, through regulation. Overtime included two 10-minute halves, and after strong defensive stops by both teams, the Locomotives scored on a free kick near the top of the box.
“Although the Big Horns fought hard until the final whistle, Laurel used their momentum to score two more in overtime,” the captains wrote.
The Locomotives held on to win, 4-1.
“Although the Lady Big Horns will not be advancing further in playoffs, they made history by making it past the regular conference season, which no team has done before them,” Mittelstaedt and Wilcynski concluded.
The Big Horns finished third in the Class A eastern division, with a win-loss-tie record of 7-3-2. By that measure, it was the best season in program history.
“Super proud of this team and what it accomplished,” added head coach Kim Dickerson. “… We will use the lessons learned this year as fuel for next fall. We are a young team and each year we continue to chip away at what we want to accomplish as a team and program.”
