HELENA - Neither a little adversity nor a lot of wind could stop the Billings West boys soccer team from being perfect. Again.

Alex Gallagher's goal in the 78th minute lifted the Golden Bears to a 2-1 win over Missoula Hellgate in the State AA championship game Saturday at Carroll College's Nelson Stadium.

The win marks a second straight unbeaten season for West, which finished with a 14-0-1 record both years.

"It's unbelievable," said West junior Zach Moyers, whose pass set up Gallagher on a breakaway for the game-winner. "West had never had a good soccer program or even a decent team … but the last three years we finished third (at state in 2007) and now we've won it twice, and gone undefeated both seasons. It's such a great feeling … it's unbelievable."

Both West and Hellgate entered the championship with 13-0-1 records, and the much-anticipated game - played in a relentless wind - lived up to its billing as a battle of unbeatens.

Hellgate got on the board first on a penalty kick by Lucas Matelich after a pass inadvertently hit a West defender in the hand in the 30th minute. It was just the fourth goal scored all season against West, and the Knights took that 1-0 lead into halftime.

"We definitely had some misfortune in the first half," said first-year West coach Mike Mayott. "We were playing against the wind and it was unfortunate that we gave up that PK. But the kids kept their heads up and kept their focus. We knew we'd have the wind in the second half and the kids were confident that we could come back."

West missed a golden scoring opportunity early in the second half when Justin Enger's penalty kick sailed high. But the Bears shook that off and tied the score a few minutes later on a goal by Anthony Keene in the 70th minute.

Moyers lofted a corner kick to the far back post, where Gallagher got a foot on it and pushed it toward Keene, who headed it past Hellgate goalie Lucas Wittkopp.

"That was a beautiful goal by Anthony," said Gallagher. "That really got us going … after that, we just relaxed and pulled it all together. The wind gave us a ton of momentum in the second half, so it was just a matter of creating some scoring chances and taking advantage of them."

The next scoring chance came with less than three minutes remaining, when Moyers' pass got Gallagher loose on a breakaway for the game-winner.

"That goal was typical of the way this team plays," said Gallagher, a junior. "It started with a good defensive stop, and then Zach played a great ball to me. Everyone was part of it, and that's the way this team plays … just good all-around soccer from one end of the field to the other.

"It's just an awesome feeling to be part of this team. This team has some of the best individual players in the state, but the reason we win is because we all work together as a team."

West outshot Hellgate 16-13 and held a 13-6 advantage in shots on goal. West goalie Joe Frank, also a junior, made five saves.

The win was especially sweet for Mayott, who was hired as West's coach just two weeks before the season started when former coach Kevin Luse took an assistant coaching position at Rocky Mountain College.

"I was hired on July 29, which gave me two days to meet with the boys before the no-contact period that runs from August 1 to August 10 … and then we started practice on the 10th," said Mayott, who was an assistant girls coach at Billings Skyview from 2000-02 under current West girls coach John Dorr. "I can't say enough about these kids. I am totally blown away by what they accomplished this season, and I'm just honored to be a part of it.

"These kids just dug and fought all day long today. Zach Moyers was playing with five stitches over his right eye from an elbow he took (on Friday), and he was out there battling all day long. Every one of our kids was. This is a team that is so deep in talent … we don't lose anything when we go to our bench, and every one of them plays hard from the first minute to the last."

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