KALISPELL — On Saturday, three college soccer programs will visit Legends Stadium in Kalispell for three exhibition matches that are free to attend.
The Carroll College, Evergreen State (Wash.) and Spokane Falls Community College men’s soccer teams will all travel to the Flathead Valley for the Glacier Park College Soccer Showcase.
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The event will include matches on Saturday and a youth soccer clinic hosted by Carroll on Sunday.
Showcase organizer and Columbia Falls boys soccer coach O’Brien Byrd said the matches are being held to encourage the growth of the sport in western Montana.
“It's truly been this journey to build the culture here in Montana, definitely here in the northwest, in the Flathead Valley,” Byrd said. “If you look at the success of high school programs here in the Flathead Valley, I mean, it goes to show you that we are really steeped in quite a rich soccer culture here, and we're going to continue to feed that and inspire kids in future generations. We can't stop.”
The exhibitions will also be an opportunity to highlight players from Montana on the Carroll and Evergreen State rosters.
Carroll has seven players from Montana on its roster, including Dane Quinn, Josiah Bibeau, Finnegan Daley-Mast and Izaak Ramirez from Helena, Maddox Anderson from Missoula and Jackson Dorvall from Whitefish.
The Evergreen State roster includes Walt Nichols and Finley Sundberg from Columbia Falls and Cooper Davis from Laurel.
With Montana represented on both rosters, Byrd hopes Saturday will feel like a homecoming for those players.
“I would encourage everyone to come out, anybody that has kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews to come out and be inspired by the power of great athletes under the spotlight,” Byrd said. “Be inspired by young men who have dreamed of this opportunity one day to play for a college team and to play in front of a crowd like this.“
Evergreen State and Carroll will kick off at 11 a.m., Evergreen State and Spokane Valley at 3, and Carroll and Spokane Valley will go at 6.
More information on the showcase can be found here: https://gpcss.org/
