The Butte High Boys Soccer team hosted the 4-time defending state champion Hellgate Knights under the lights of Bulldog Memorial Stadium tonight. Meeting for the second time this season, the young Bulldogs held their own early against the speed and ball control of the Knights. Although it took Hellgate 25 minutes to finally score, the Knights took a 3-0 lead into halftime and expanded the lead in the second half to a 10-1 victory.
The Bulldogs, sporting some pink colors in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, scored late in the second half on an indirect free kick where Boyd Dewitt fed a Jack Luoma goal. Midfielders Mack Williams and Obadiah Breeton supported the Bulldog defense and initiated the counterattacks on offense. Bulldog freshman goalkeeper kept the Bulldogs in the game early and often throughout with some quick reaction saves. Still, the experience and strength of Hellgate’s offensive attack was too much for the Bulldog defense who patiently added 7 second half goals.
Butte High head coach Cody Carpenter stated after the game, “although the final score may not look like it, I saw big improvement in our team versus the first time we played Hellgate. We were confident in the midfield and answered the Knights passing with some great sequences ourselves. The boys played with tremendous determination and grit to the very end–with their body language in the locker room afterwards, you would have thought that we won the match.”
Next up, the Bulldogs travel to Missoula Sentinel this Saturday.
