United lift the Montana Cup

The Hi-Line United U17 soccer team won three matches during the season, leading up to the Montana Cup, and this past weekend in Livingston, they matched that in two days en route to winning the 17U Gold division.

After equaling its win total for the season this past weekend, the United finished with a 6-6-1 record. In group play Saturday, they opened the tournament by knocking off Livingston 4-2 and Whitehall by the score of 7-1. Then, Havre met Livingston again in the final Saturday and pitched a shutout in a 5-0 victory to claim the championship.

In the opening match of the tournament against Livingston Saturday morning, the United got two goals from Cole Hanson, as well as one goal each from Max Olson and Justin Rolf. Following the first win over Livingston, the United, led by head coach Jayson Burrington, defeated Whitehall 7-1 to clinch a berth in the final. Olson and Rolf both scored twice in the win, while Saranina Flores, Jacob Van Wagner and August Eacker all found the back of the net once.

After outscoring their opponents 11-3 in group play, the United saved their best performance for the final, as they shutout Livingston 5-0. Benjamin Van Wagner wrapped up a stellar weekend in net by blanking the home team. In three matches total, he allowed just three goals. Olson also capped a stellar weekend with a hat trick, giving him a total of six goals in three matches. Flores also scored a goal in the championship match, as did Rolf, who finished with four goals.

The other members of the United that contributed to the 17U Gold Cup championship were Sean Borrero, Nolan Lotton, Abby Niedert, Rhoda Peterson, Troy Powell, Heather Rolf, Kimberly Shanks, Noah Teasley and Natalie Verploegen.