Central’s Girls Soccer Team Wins State

The Billings Central girls soccer team has faced adversity over the last few years. In 2019, they lost the championship match against Laurel. In 2020, their season ended with disappointment in Whitefish in the Girls State A Soccer Semifinals. In 2021, they once again lost to Laurel in the state championship. They were so close to the trophy, yet couldn’t quite grab it. This year, they proudly lifted that trophy into the air as champions.

The Girls State A Soccer Championship took place in Whitefish, Montana, a total of 465 miles away from Billings. The girls soccer team left early Friday morning, and the 8-hour bus ride was calm. They arrived in Whitefish and had a short practice at the field. They then drove to the hotel and ate dinner. “The energy before was awesome,” recalled Maddy Tracy. “Everyone was excited for the game.”

The following morning was game day. The tension was clear on the bus ride to the field. However, that tension was reduced when the girls saw the number of family members and friends that came to greet the bus. There was about a crowd of 30 people there, and that number increased as the game started.

Then the Championship game commenced. All nerves were lost as the Rams immediately sent a ball forward. Then, near the 10^th minute, senior Abby Derbyshire sprinted down the field and blasted a shot into the right side of the net. Immediately after, cheering erupted from all sides of the field. Whitefish nearly had a goal, but it went over. The Rams also had other shots on goal in the first half but couldn’t quite put another one away. Halftime ended 1-0.

Then the second half began. Only 4 minutes after the whistle blew, Whitefish’s Brooke Roberts put one in the net. This created a sense of urgency for the Rams to stop the game from going to overtime. Central’s Kendall Wahl had multiple close shots, but the Whitefish keeper put up a strong fight. Then, with 3 minutes left in regulation, Lauren Dull dribbled up about 20 yards from the goal and shot a perfect ball into the top left corner above the keeper’s outstretched arms. Then, from either relief, fatigue, or both, Dull collapsed on the field. Everyone around her went wild.“There was so much relief,” commented Sophie Hall. “Everyone was so happy and excited.”

The Rams remained strong in the remaining minutes of the game. Then, as the final whistle blew, all of the girls got in a giant huddle, many of them crying tears of joy. This championship win also marked 10 championship wins for the girls team, a state record. The seven seniors relished the moment: a moment that they will certainly never forget. When asked about her feelings after the game, Lauren Dull replied, “I was so proud of everyone on the team. Even when Whitefish scored and the game was tied, each girl stayed strong and knew we couldn’t get down on ourselves. We adapted and played 100% until the very end. That’s what a championship team does. I remember taking the the ball and shooting it, but it still doesn’t feel real that the goal hit the back of the net. I was so grateful and every emotion came out at once, it was crazy. Hugging my teammates after will be a moment that I will never forget.”