Polson girls bring speed, experience back to the field

POLSON - The outlook for the Polson girls' soccer team is rosy, and so is the prognosis for their coach.

Though they lost a lot of experience and power to graduation last spring, this year's Lady Pirate squad brings back plenty of experience and speed. With 30 girls out for soccer, Coble will field both a varsity and junior varsity team, which is a sign of a healthy program both in the near-term and down the pike.

"Overall I'm very excited about this year's team," Coble said. "… and fielding a JV team is important for keeping a strong program."

Coble has been confined to sitting in the bleachers under a large umbrella, trying not to get exposed to the sun. He's in his sixth week of chemotherapy for treatment of cancer found in his right tonsil early this summer. The good news is that no cancer was found in his lymph nodes.

"They just found a little bit of cancer in the tonsil and nothing in the lymph nodes," Coble explained, "so, we're doing the chemo just to make sure. Just two more weeks left."

His wife, Carolyn Pardini, has tackled some of the on-the-field coaching duties for now, plus officiating traffic along the sidelines when necessary. Coble continues to coach his players from beneath the umbrella, but he sometimes struggles to stay put.

"Mr. Coble, please return to your seat," she called several times during Friday morning's scrimmage.

Despite the chemotherapy, Coble is thrilled to talk about this year's squad.

"We have seven returning senior starters, which gives us a strong core," he said.

Included in the senior squad are striker Strohm Fouty, an all-state player last year, and midfielder Jenni Nesladek, an all-conference player last year, in addition to Kali Vergeront and Keely Torgison, who will both be anchoring the defense.

"Kali has four years' experience as a starting defender and should be difficult to beat," Coble explained.

Midfielder Teal Potter brings two years of varsity experience to the midfield, with great ball skills and stamina.

"We are also happy to have senior midfielder Jamie Poukish back with us this year," the coach noted.

Senior Melanie Browning will be goalkeeping, along with support from juniors Kayla Jones and Lena Peterson.

Along with that solid core of seniors are nine returning juniors, all with previous soccer experience. Lindsy Campbell, Kara Huyser, Mattie Morton, Linzie Frederick, Jore' Noble, and Amber Caraway are all returning letter winners.

And the sophomore squad also has been very impressive, showing great speed and physical play, according to coach Coble.

"To round out the squad, we have five freshmen, all with great attitudes and drive, which makes the team a great team to work with," Coble added. "Overall, I think we have good team speed and should be a great team to watch."

This year Polson is part of the newly-formed Southwest Class A conference, along with teams from Corvallis, Hamilton, and Stevensville. Corvallis was last year's Class A state champion and Hamilton placed second.

"I think this will be highly competitive. And we're excited about this year's schedule - we'll get to play all the western schools again and we do not have to travel as much as the past two years," Coble said. "Overall, I think we'll be highly competitive and look forward to a very exciting year."

Polson has a lot of speed and experience, but the defense is untested. Although the Lady Pirates have some tweaks to work out, both physically and strategically, their potential is impressive.

Pardini likes the makeup of this group of soccer players. They're enthusiastic and particularly supportive of each other.

"I have cramps in my cheeks from smiling at them. They're just great, just great," Pardini said with her broadest smile.

The Polson girls open the soccer season with two home games next weekend, taking on Billings Central at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3 after the boys' 4 p.m. match. Then the boys host Laurel at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 4, followed by the girls' match at noon.