BILLINGS — Less than a minute into Saturday’s soccer match against Great Falls CMR, Meadow Mahlmeister had her first shot attempt on a good service from one of her teammates.
Mere moments later, Mahlmeister, a junior for the Billings Senior Broncs, had another close-in opportunity. She didn’t get good contact on the ball, however, and her mis-strike was handled by the CMR keeper.
Though Mahlmeister’s first two attempts at goal came up empty, it was clear it was only going to be a matter of time until she could put her stamp on the match. Just like it was only a matter of time until Mahlmeister, a prolific goal-scorer for Class A Lockwood as an eighth grader and freshman, would adapt to the Class AA game.
By day’s end, Mahlmeister put four goals into the net — and created another off her foot on a CMR own goal — in Senior’s 10-0 win. Even without the goals, Mahlmeister made her presence known by her ability to hold the ball while others around her found open space or made runs to get past their markers.
It’s early in the season and things are going to get tougher, but through three games the Broncs are showing what coach Stephanie Wagner envisioned when Mahlmeister transferred to Senior ahead of last season.
“Obviously, Meadow has been putting most of our goals in, but she also creates an element where we can allow the rest of our team to get open, too, because (defenses are) concerned about her,” Wagner said. “And so, it allows some of our other players to get in and do that, too.”
Mahlmeister scored 14 goals as an eighth grader at Lockwood and followed that up with 32 as a freshman. She transferred to Senior for her sophomore year but had to sit out the first half of the season, per Montana High School Association rules.
She still managed to put in a team-high six goals, along with Bailey Wanberg, as the Broncs grinded their way to a 7-6-1 regular-season record and a first-round playoff exit. Very little came easy for the Broncs, as they were shut out six times including four matches in a row early in the season.
The top of the Eastern AA is filled with more defensive-minded teams with high-possession abilities, and those team are still ahead on Senior's schedule. But the Broncs might have some firepower to combat those types of teams this season: Already Mahlmeister has scored nine goals, and the Broncs have put in 20 as a team. They scored 27 all last season.
“When I came to Senior (last year), my first couple of games was more of a wake-up call on how different the scoring opportunity was and how few (chances) you get,” Mahlmeister said. “It really makes me have to capitalize on the chances I get. But this year, I’m starting to figure it out and getting my chances to put it in the back of the net.”
Other Broncs have, as well. Eight players in all have scored already this season — Hazel Lowe and Morgan Grover both have two goals — and four players have multiple assists, with Mahlmeister’s three helpers leading the way.
Wagner doesn’t get lost in the numbers, however. She doesn’t want her team to be a one-trick pony and rely solely on Mahlmeister for goals, and that hasn’t been the case. Wagner praised the depth of her team and she can back up that belief with the stats mentioned previously.
“The chemistry and the flow of this group to start off has already been a step above where we left off last year,” Wagner said. “We're passing better, we're talking better, we're moving more. And I just feel like overall the mojo of the group is just a lot better.”
Mahlmeister likes the soccer mojo, too. Though she’s won state wrestling titles at both Lockwood and Senior (her dad is a former girls wrestling coach for the Broncs), Mahlmeister would like soccer to be her future.
If she had stayed at Lockwood, perhaps she might have had a chance at the career goal-scoring record set by Laurel’s Mya Maack, who is now plying her trade at Rocky Mountain College. Mahlmeister's intent now, whether she is hunting goals or creating space to make for her teammates, is to help the Broncs get into the playoffs and make as deep a run into the postseason as they can.
“Our bench definitely is deep with options,” Mahlmeister said. “Another thing that makes our team so good is that everyone’s so competitive because you’ve got to fight for your minutes and fight for your starting spot.”
The goal-scoring is harder to come by at the AA level. But now feeling comfortable at that level, Mahlmeister is eager to regain some of her goal-scoring panache and help the Broncs along the way.
