BILLINGS — On two occasions this season, Riley Krueger-Harding has had a record-setting day for the Billings West boys soccer team.
They didn’t need such a performance Tuesday afternoon, but his two goals helped the Golden Bears beat Great Falls 3-0 in the first round of the Class AA playoffs on a day when four Billings programs found victory at Amend Park.
Also advancing out of the first round: Billings Skyview’s boys knocked off Great Falls CMR 2-0; Billings Senior’s boys rolled past Belgrade 7-1; and Billings West’s girls held on to an early goal for a 1-0 win over Belgrade.
All four advanced to quarterfinal matches later in the week. Billings Senior’s girls lost 2-0 in Bozeman after a late start due to a school lockdown earlier in the day, while Billings Skyview’s girls had a first-round bye.
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West boys 3, Great Falls 0
Krueger-Harding entered Tuesday with 15 goals — second-most in the Eastern AA — with 11 of those coming in two matches.
On Sept. 28, Krueger-Harding scored five times against Great Falls CMR, which then set a Class AA single-game record. Two weeks later, he tallied six goals against Belgrade, eclipsing his own mark and tying the all-class record set by Corvallis’s Emmett Semple in 2016, according to the Montana High School Association.
“He just finds himself in great spots,” West coach Luke Ashmore said. “He’s just one of those strikers who always has a goal on his mind, but there is a lot of unselfishness in his play, which I really enjoy.”
Josh Lambourne got things going with an early goal for West, which came in as the No. 3 seed in the East. Krueger-Harding followed with a goal to make it 2-0, and quickly added his second when the Great Falls keeper couldn’t corral the ball and it fell to the feet of Krueger-Harding’s feet.
He promptly put the ball in the net.
“When we play our game we’re one of the best teams in the state, I believe,” Krueger-Harding said. “Josh got that first goal and that got the energy going and I could rally off that to get two more and seal the game.”
West (8-4-1) advances to take on Helena Capital (10-4-1).
Skyview boys 2, Great Falls CMR 0
Moments after a CMR shot trickled under the arm of the Skyview keeper but went off the post, the Falcons’ Taylor Moore headed in a bouncing ball late in the match for a two-goal lead.
Fourth-seeded Skyview went on from there to beat the fifth-seeded Rustlers for the fourth time this season: once in the season opener (a non-conference match) and twice during conference play.
“Getting to beat them all four times is a feat, I think,” Skyview coach Russell Dornisch said. “It wasn’t always easy, but we had the confidence we needed to do that all four times.”
In the first half, Moore assisted on Aidan Morgan’s header just before the whistle at the break.
Skyview (6-5-2) next plays at Missoula Hellgate (12-0-3), which has played in the each of the past five AA championship matches, winning titles in 2015, ’16 and ’17.
Dornisch moved from Colorado to take over the Skyview program this fall, and while he hasn’t seen Hellgate’s run firsthand, he said he’s aware of the Knights’ reputation.
“I’ve been paying attention enough, watching that side of the state,” he said. “I told the boys, ‘It’s the playoffs, anything can happen.’ I’ve seen some crazy, crazy things happen. We have three days to get ready and work hard and see if we can do something amazing.”
Senior boys 7, Belgrade 1
Rendan Klein scored in the first minute, and Sam George scored two quick goals — one on a PK — to give the No. 2-seeded Broncs the quick upper hand over No. 7 Belgrade.
By the time it was over, George had three goals and Dax Wilson had a hat trick of his own, ensuring the Broncs (11-2-0) host a quarterfinal match against Kalispell Glacier (7-4-4) this weekend.
“The boys just played well,” Senior coach Zach Robbins said. “Those first two goals — I mean, we got a goal in the first minute — that’s a good thing and gives us momentum moving forward. There’s still some things we’ll continue to hone this week.”
Seth D’Ambrosia added two assists, and Wilson and Trey Draayer also had helpers.
Christian Aitchison scored Belgrade’s goal to pull them within 3-1.
West girls 1, Belgrade 0
The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met, so when West’s Sophie Sievertsen scored in the sixth minute, Bears coach Rob Zimmerman thought his team might have solved the Panthers’ defense.
But that goal was all there was, and the Bears hung on for the next 74 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals.
“We created a lot of opportunities and were fortunate to finish one,” Zimmerman said. “It’s been a little bit of an Achilles’ heel for us, finishing, so we’ve been working on it a lot.
“I thought we had a little bit of a breakthrough against CMR (a 4-0 win last week) and kind of thought maybe we turned the corner, but as long as we play good, solid team defense and keep creating opportunities, I think we’ll be OK.”
West (7-3-3) will travel to Missoula Hellgate (8-3-4) for the quarterfinals.