BOZEMAN- The 2023 edition of the Hellgate Knights Lady soccer team saw their historic season come to an end at the AA State title game Tuesday 10/31, on Bozeman High School’s field.
It is the first time in Hellgate’s school history that a team from the ladies side has ever advanced that far.
“It definitely means a lot, and it is a super awesome milestone to have achieved,” said senior forward Carmen Anderson. “It shows how much our program has improved over the years, and that Hellgate girls soccer is one to compete with.”
The Knights (14-2-1) played strong defense against a heavy striking Bozeman High club (16-0-1). But a pair of goals from Junior standout Maya Bossenbrook, in the 8th and 45th minute, proved too overpowering for the Knights to come back from.
Hellgate opened up the chipper with great control and movement, amongst a couple good looks at the net, before Bozeman’s Macey Primrose snuck past a pair of defenders in the right corner, and crossed over to the middle where Bossenbrook received and booted the ball from the penalty box into the bottom of the net, to spot the Hawks with an early lead.
Through stellar defense from both sides in the remainder of the first 40 minutes of the contest, that 1-0 score would hold until the half.
The Hawks came out in half-two firing, as they would quickly force multiple Hellgate turnovers, and keep control of the ball for the majority of the closing half. In the 45th minute, Primrose again at midfield assisted Bossenbrook with a dime near the 18-yard box that Bossenbrook snuck it into the bottom left corner of the net, to double Bozeman’s score.
That 2-0 tally would hold until the final whistle.
As time expired to close the storybook ending on Bozeman’s undefeated 2023 campaign, Hellgate was met with a rush of emotions as the field was mobbed with Hawks.
It is the first time since 2016 that Bozeman has emerged State champions, and the sixth time in the past 20 years.
“Although it didn’t end how we wanted, it was still a great season,” said Anderson. “I love how close we all are, and it made for a really fun season with this group that is super driven.”
The Knights scored 64 goals on 54 assists throughout their magical campaign in 2023, with both numbers improving from last year’s lineup. Hellgate will graduate seven seniors from this year’s class, and since a new coaching staff was introduced in 2020, this special group has racked up three semifinal berths, back-to-back Western AA Conference Championships, three straight city championships, and the first state berth in program history.
Be on the lookout for some of those Hellgate names, as the honorary All-State, All-Conference and Honorable Mention teams are announced in the next few weeks- including Anderson, who is set to suit up for the Central Washington Wildcats after her time as a Knight comes to a close.
“Going to CWU, I am looking forward to new challenges, meeting new people, and just being able to continue playing the sport that I love.”
This state Championship game, along with the Western AA Volleyball Divisional tournament at the end of this week in Butte, wraps up Hellgate’s 2023-24 fall sports campaign. Winter sports are slated to begin in early December, with the boys and the girls basketball teams battling Billings Skyview on Dec. 8 in Missoula to open the Hellgate winter sports season.
