COLUMBIA FALLS — For the second year in a row, Flip Darling Memorial Field will be the sight of the Glacier Park College Soccer Showcase, which will bring two Division I women's soccer programs in the University of Montana and Air Force Academy out for a match.
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The showcase was organized by Columbia Falls boys soccer coach O’Brien Byrd, who worked with UM head coach Chris Citowicki to give the fans in the Flathead Valley a one-of-a-kind experience.
"We don't have this experience in our backyards like other bigger communities have,” Byrd said. “This is very small-town Montana, small-town America, and a population of 6,000 people hosting an event like this, we're pinching ourselves. It means so much — most importantly, so much to our youth."
Byrd also said it was Citowicki who coordinated with Air Force to bring them out for the exhibition.
"He has a good connection with the coach, ran it by the coach down there, and here they come,” Byrd said. “They're gonna arrive on a military plane on Friday, and they're gonna come to Columbia Falls, Montana."
This year, the youth soccer players can do more than just watch these teams, as both squads will be hosting their own youth clinics.
"We're super excited to get the college program coaches to be the head coaches for the clinics and the college players themselves to also assist with the clinics,” Byrd said. “That'll enhance the game experience because the people attending those clinics will know the names of those players, and having a chance to actually work with those players is a really special gameday experience now with that clinic in their background.
The Air Force clinic will begin at 9:30 a.m. and Montana’s will start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2.
The match will kick off at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3.
Click here for more information about the match and clinics.
