HELENA — In the crosstown series finale, the Helena High girls rattled off a 3-0 win, while the Bengals and Bruins boys battled to a 2-2 draw at Nelson Stadium on Wednesday night.
Early on in the girls game, neither team had a truly open opportunity to score until midway through the first half, when Rachel Plaster took a pass from Logan Todorovich and dribbled her way into open space, and beat the Bruin's keeper to net the match's first goal. Just a few minutes later, the Bengals were on the attack again and Capital's Morgan Kaufman's attempt to clear the ball went awry, leading to an own goal to put the Bengals up 2-0 through the first half.
The Bengals were able to tack on one more goal in the second half to wrap the game up at 3-0 and keep their lead in the Western AA.
Coming into the boys game, the Bruins held a narrow lead over the Bengals in the standings for third place. With a tie, the Bruins maintain their lead, though a Bengals win would catapult them into a slim lead for the third-place spot in the Western AA.
Early on, the Bengals had a few opportunities to score, but were not able to find the back of the net. Fading the Bengals attacks, the Bruins were the first team to score when Tizer Kazmierowski was able to break away and beat the Bengal defense to rocket a shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead in the match's 29th minute.
That lead held through the first half before Helena High's Luch Ruch was able to tie the game up in the second half at 1-1. Both Capital and Helena High were able to net one more goal apiece on shots from Bridger Leeflang and Jack Nasset, respectively, to end the game in a 2-2 draw.
With just two games left in the regular season, the Bruins will continue to hold their two-point lead of third place in the Western AA following the draw.
The Bengals next test will come on Oct. 12 when Helena High faces Missoula Hellgate. The Bruins will play Missoula Big Sky on Tuesday as well.
