Class AA Soccer Preview: Hellgate, Bozeman Host Big Matchups

The first round of the MHSA class AA state boys and girls soccer playoffs got underway yesterday in cities all over Montana and now winning teams are preparing themselves for their quarterfinal match-ups this Friday and Saturday. Here’s a look at the scores from Tuesday’s action: BOYS: Billings Senior 7, Belgrade 1 Billings West 3, Great Falls High 0 Billings Skyview 2, Great Falls CMR 0 Kalispell Glacier 2, Kalispell Flathead 1 Missoula Hellgate 8, Butte 0 Helena Capital 9, Missoula Big Sky 2 Helena High 3, Missoula Sentinel 2 GIRLS: Bozeman 2, Billings Senior 0 Billings West 1, Belgrade 0 Great Falls CMR 1, Great Falls High 0 Kalispell Glacier 4, Butte 0 Helena High 5, Kalispell Flathead 0 Missoula Hellgate 5, Helena Capital 0 Missoula Sentinel 3, Missoula Big Sky 1 The two-seeded Hellgate Knights girls took down the Capital Bruins on Tuesday thanks to a four-goal barrage in the first 40 minutes, including two from Hellgate sophomore Lucia Baker. The Knights went 7-3-4 during the regular season and even scored an upset win over top-seeded Glacier. The key to winning a state title, the team says, is all about sticking together and having fun—something players say they’ve done all year long. “It’s awesome, the girls have been working super hard, we’ve had a lot of trouble scoring goals this season,” Hellgate head coach Ian Marshall said. “To kind of bust through, [it was] just a team effort all around and to get rewarded with those five goals was great. Now we’re on to the next one.” “It felt amazing. This is my first game back for a while and it was just incredible to go out there and score a few,” Baker said. “I love my teammates. They’re the best, we have such a great team relationship and it’s amazing to be a part of this team.” This Saturday the Knights will play host to the Billings West Golden Bears. But what about the rest of the state? Here’s the schedule for this week’s quarterfinal games: BOYS: Friday, October 25 Billings West at Helena Capital, 2 p.m. Helena High at Bozeman, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, October 26 Billings Skyview at Missoula Hellgate, noon Kalispell Glacier at Billings Senior, 2 p.m. GIRLS: Friday, October 25 Helena High at Bozeman, 1 p.m. Saturday, October 26 Great Falls CMR at Kalispell Glacier, 1 p.m. Billings West at Missoula Hellgate, 3 p.m. Missoula Sentinel at Billings Skyview, 2 p.m. Along with the Hellgate Knights, the Bozeman Hawks are also excited for this weekend’s match-ups with both the Helena Bengals boys and girls squads. The Bozeman boys team—fresh off of a 2018 state title—comes into this year’s playoffs with a perfect 12-0 season and a first-round bye. Head coach Hunter Terry is proud of his team, but understands the importance of coaching a team with a lot of potential. “I have the privilege of coaching some really awesome people and good soccer players,” Terry said. “I think having success in the regular season is good and I want to be humble about it, but I know what our guys are capable of.” “A lot of us kind of know what it feels like to win a state championship and we know how bad we want to do it again,” Bozeman forward Jackson Coles said. “But also there are kids on the team that weren’t there last year and they really just want to get a state championship for themselves so we’re all just really driven and really motivated.” The Hawks haven’t lost a game at home since 2016 and they’re planning to carry that momentum into this weekend. As for the girls, they earned the second seed in the East and hosted Billings Senior on Tuesday, coming out with a big win 2-0. “We’re really excited to be moving on,” Bozeman girls head coach Erika Cannon said. “We’re just excited to be playing on Saturday and we’re hopeful to keep it going. We’ve been working on a lot of different things, but a lot of the things that are just starting to come together are our defensive communication, our ability to press and then offensively trying to get more combination play in the attack and trying to create better opportunities for goals.”