COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls has been working to recapture its championship form after winning the Class A girls state soccer title last year.
Coach Thomas Clark hopes his team will not be complacent coming into the 2026 season.
WATCH THE STORY:
“Anytime you're coming off a championship, you are balancing the benefit of having that postseason experience with the fact that everybody's gunning for you,” Clark said.
“You're the hunted instead of being the hunter at this point, and then there's also the complacency piece that you kind of have to fight against.”
Clark is less concerned with the level of play his team will bring to the field than with the chemistry it will have.
Senior Alexa Friske says building the camaraderie has been the team’s main priority over the summer.
“I think what helped us get to the state championship was the community that we had within our team,” Friske said. “Everyone trusted everyone, everyone believed in each other, and it just led for such a great season.”
The upperclassmen have already taken on that responsibility by holding their teammates accountable in early season practices.
Senior Riley Byrd emphasized the importance of staying on top of things while training.
“We know that if we don't perform in practices, then we can't expect to perform in games,” Byrd said. “So as leaders and upperclassmen, we're really pushing ourselves, and if we notice there's a drop of level or people maybe aren't focusing, we kind of have to be the ones to call people out sometimes.”
After losing five starters from last season's senior class, that community will be vital to this year’s success with some younger players stepping into important roles.
“It's going to be important because we have some young players that are going to have to step up again this year,” Clark said. “We have some freshmen coming in that are going to get minutes right away, and so we're going to rely on those older players to show them the way and establish our identity of how we want to play and accomplish our goals.”
Columbia Falls begins its season on Saturday against Laurel.
