United soccer teams wrap up the season

The Hi-Line United Soccer teams have each had exciting seasons and this past weekend. After months of soccer, it all came to an end at the Montana State Cup.

Both the U19 team and the U14 team were in Livingston to compete in the State Cup Saturday and Sunday. Both tournaments were made up of six teams, which were separated in two, three-team groups.

The U19 team opened group play Saturday morning, when the United took on the Red Lodge Rangers, who defeated the United by the score of 8-0. Later in group play, Red Lodge and Sidney tied at 0-0, which meant that with a win over Sidney in the final match of group play, Havre could advance to the cup semifinals.

Yet, despite waging a hard-fought game, the United ended up falling to Sidney by the score of 4-2 Saturday night. With the loss, the U19 team played in the fifth-place game Sunday morning and in another close game, the United fell to the Big Timber Wolves 3-1, falling short of finishing in fifth place.

The U14 team was also in action in Livingston and opened its group play portion of the tournament against Sidney, which knocked off the United by a score of 5-2 in the opening game. Yet, the United rallied and play well in their second match of group play, earning a tie against Big Timber after a 1-1 stalemate.

With the tie, the United finished third in the group, one point behind Big Timber, which also earned a 2-2 tie with Sidney earlier in group play. With the loss, the United competed for fifth place against Red Lodge and despite notching a goal, the U14 team fell by a score of 4-1 to finish in sixth place.

"State was a great experience," U14 coach Jayson Burrington said. "The kids played their hearts out, just couldn't get the ball into the net. This has been a rebuilding year for our program. None of our players have ever played competitive soccer before. We are looking forward to next season."