Clark Fork gets first home win

The Clark Fork Soccer Alliance got their first victory of the season in front of hometown folks Saturday, but they also received their first stomping on the same day.

They were the first and only home games for Nick Lawyer's U17 girls, which now have one win, one loss and one tie.

In Saturday's first game, the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance faced the Polson FC girls, which went into the game at Plains with one loss and one tie. Keeper Ava Lawyer chalked up eight saves in the first half and the first half ended with no one scoring. Early in the second half, Lawyer dived for a hard hit into the corner, but couldn't get to it. Soon, Polson shut Clark Fork out 5-0.

"We'll get them next time," Nick Lawyer told the team after the game. Player Solveig Nygaard defended her keeper after the game in a team huddle. "The reason they didn't score in the first half was because of Ava," said Nygaard, one of the Thompson Falls members of the team. Coach Lawyer, Ava's father, emphasized that it's not just the keeper that gives up a goal, but the entire team. Clark Fork Soccer Alliance has players from Plains, Thompson Falls and St. Regis. Lawyer said his players needed to get to the ball faster, but he also noted they were missing part of their players for the first game, including two starters.

"Our first game was tough - we were in the game through the first half. Maddie Carter struck the post and both Emelia Rivinius and Madison Toyias had shots turned wide by their keeper," said Lawyer, who is assisted by Katrina Nygaard, Solveig's mother.

"Overall this year has turned into a bit of a rebuilding year for us," said Lawyer. "Coming off our Fall 2022 Championship win of the Western Montana Classic, I think I was expecting us to be tough contenders. But the combination of four departing seniors and the Wrobleski girls playing for Missoula Strikers means that six starters are gone from our lineup," he said.

Game two was a different story for Clark Fork Soccer Alliance. This time their attackers took the ball to their opponents' goal and kept it there most of the time. Six minutes into the game Savannah Costner pounded one past Missoula Striker keeper Amy McGrath to put Plains on the board. Four minutes later, Costner struck again for point number two, followed by another one within two minutes to make it a 3-0 game. The Strikers soon got on the board, but Clark Fork player Mikiah Cook returned fire for point number four.

In the second half, Solveig Nygaard took over as keeper and in no time Costner struck again and again, giving her a "Legend" - five goals in a game. "This is someone who plays the game well, she dribbles well, she passes well, and she knows the game," said Lawyer. With only a minute and a half left in the game, Rivinius scored to end the game 7-1.

"I think I'm most pleased with the players' response. After losing the first game it would be easy to get down on ourselves, but they came out with an intensity and anger that really caught me off guard a bit. The 7-1 score doesn't really respect how aggressive and dominant we were and I'm pleased with the team's response," he added.