Lady Broncs state champions; Senior boys fall short

Posted: Oct 29, 2011 7:50 PM by Q2 Sports
Updated: Oct 29, 2011 7:50 PM

HELENA - It's no small feat for a single high school to have both of their soccer squads compete for state titles on the same day. Of course any Broncs' fan would have loved to see the orange and black return home to Billings with two trophies, but considering all the teams in a very competitive AA, 1 isn't too shabby.

That was the case Saturday afternoon in Helena, as the Lady Broncs were victorious against the cross-town rival Skyview, just barely edging the Falcons 1-0.

The difference of the game came from Mandi Achten's 70th minute header off a corner kick from Alex Harvey. That single goal proved to be good enough for Senior's first ever girls soccer title.

The Lady Broncs had finished 2nd 3 of the past 4 years, including last year's overtime defeat to West in the state title game.

For however sweet it was for the girls, it was just as sour for the Senior boys who fought hard against Hellgate, twice coming back to tie the game and force overtime, but the Broncs came up just short in the penalty kick shootout.

Senior trailed 1-0 and 2-1 before forcing the OT and in the overtime neither team could get anymore past their respective keepers. In a shootout, each team gets 5 tries each, Senior converted 4, Hellgate 5.

For the Lady Falcons this was their first ever trip to state securing their first 2 state tournament wins and first championship appearance in school history.