Hi-Line United impress in only home games

The Hi-Line United Soccer Club 19U team came to Havre this Saturday looking to pick up a pair of wins when they played a doubleheader against the Miles City Posse and Helena Youth Soccer. After playing a couple of high-scoring games, United finished the day at the Havre High School soccer field with a 1-1 record.

United started the day on the right note with a 5-4 win over Miles City. United head coach Jayson Burrington believes his team pulled out the victory because they just executed.

"We worked on passing a lot. Worked the fields, worked the sides, worked the middle, it was great," Burrington said.

However, they failed to pick up their second win of the day as they fell to Helena, 8-4. Burrington said having to play a doubleheader may have played into how the second game played out.

"A little rusty," Burrington said. "This was our second game, this was their first, so it was a little rough but we pushed through it. Wasn't the result that I wanted but it is what it is."

In their first game against Miles City, United took a 1-0 lead early in the first half. They then extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Max Olson. After a Miles City goal cut the lead in half, Olson scored another goal to give United a 3-1 lead. However, Miles City did not go away as they scored two quick goals to tie the game, 3-3, at halftime.

United used halftime to gather themselves and they took the lead early in the second half when Olson scored on a header. United then added another goal to extend their lead to 5-3. Miles City kept battling and scored to cut United's lead to one but could not score another score to tie the game as United held on to win.

Burrington believes his team was able to take momentum back after giving up the lead because of Olson's goal to start the half. He said that once they got the lead, all they had to do was hold onto the ball.

"Score quick and play possession of the ball, keep the ball, hang onto it, run out the time," Burrington said. "Play aggressive, keep everybody focused."

In their second game, Helena scored three goals to take a quick 3-0 lead. United got back in it after Olson scored back-to-back goals to cut Helena's lead to one. However, Helena retook momentum as they scored two more goals to build a 5-2 lead at halftime.

Helena kept their momentum going in the second half with two more goals to build to make it 7-2. Olson scored another goal to make it 7-3 but Helena answered right back with another goal to make it 8-3. United got another goal to make the final score, 8-4.

Outside of their first win to start the day, another bright spot for United was Olson's strong performance. Across the two games, Olson scored seven goals. In their win over Miles City, he scored five goals to lead them to victory and he scored three in their losing effort to Helena.

"He's an all-around great player," Burrington said. "It was a great performance to watch and he gave 100 percent all the way up until the end."

The United will next play in a few weeks when they head in the road to play at Butte. After that, they will compete in the state tournament in Livingston. With little time left in the regular season, Burrington believes his players will need to work on communication in order to make a postseason run.

"A lot to work on," Burrington said. "Communication is key. Getting the players to work together more often and work the sides and work as a team more."