United soccer teams wrap up another year on the pitch

While most of the spring sports teams in the area finished their seasons back in May, the Hi-Line United soccer teams had their seasons end this past weekend at the Montana State Cup.

Havre took two teams to the tournament, a team in the U19 division and a team in the U15 division. The U19 team, which is a co-ed team, competed against six other teams in the tournament and in the end, they failed to earn a win or make it out of the knockout phase of the tournament.

In group play, the United U19 team took on Lewistown and Livingston. Against Lewistown, the United fell 5-0, and in the match against Livingston, the final score was 8-0. Sidney finished at the top of the group and earned a bye for the quarterfinals, while Havre took on Lewistown again and was eliminated after a 3-0 defeat.

“I’m happy that the players enjoyed themselves and had fun this year,” U19 head coach John Harkins said. “I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the players develop and grow in the years to come.”

The U15 team, which is also co-ed, took part in a four-team tournament that also included Big Timber, Red Lodge and Miles City. The United first took on Big Timer, which defeated them 6-4. Then, Havre took on Red Lodge and the United also dropped that match by the score of 8-0.

All four teams advanced to the semifinals and in that round, Havre played Red Lodge again, but this time the United were much more competitive, falling 6-2. Havre then took on Miles City in the B finals and dropped a hard-fought match, 3-2.

The United had a number of different players score over the course of the tournament and leading the way was Max Olson, who scored a team-high three goals. Sylvia Wilting added two goals, while Isabella Snyder, Noah Teasley and Torek Swensen all had one.

“It was a tough weekend, but a great weekend,” U15 head coach Jayson Burrington said. “The kids did an outstanding job executing plays, passes, shots and everything else. We just couldn’t get our shots on target until the late half of the games. We have come a long way from the beginning of the season We finished with three wins and two ties. We know what we need to improve for next season, and I am very proud to have coached this team and want to thank my great staff.”