Polson's soccer season ends in Bigfork

BIGFORK — The season ended for the Polson girls soccer team Saturday afternoon in Bigfork without fireworks or a grand celebration. Senior day had come and gone, as had their lone win of the season, a 6-1 victory over Stevensville in the beginning of September. Yet the Lady Pirates showed grit and determination in their final two matches of the season, despite falling last Thursday night to Libby 3-2, and Saturday afternoon to Bigfork, 4-3.

On Thursday, the Pirates faced an undefeated Libby team and played them close all game. A lone Libby goal in the first half gave them the lead for a while, but Polson came back early in the second half with a tying goal by sophomore striker Makenzie Wegner in the 43rd minute. Libby struck back with a goal 10 minutes later but the Pirates showed their resiliency, tying the game again in the 66th minute on a goal by junior winger Sarah Devlin. It looked like the Pirates might hold on for a tie but Libby broke through a tough Polson defense to take the lead with four minutes to go.

“The game was amazing,” head coach Michael Hewston said. “The girls really came together and did what we have been working on. It was a high spirit, high energy game, and just a great soccer game.”

Saturday’s game against Bigfork was more of the same from the Pirates, who fought long and hard before finally succumbing to a 4-3 loss. The team’s played a back-and-forth first half that featured six total goals. Bigfork struck first with a goal in the 14th minute, but sophomore defender Marissa Bender tied it in the 26th minute. After giving up two goals in the next ten minutes, it looked like the Pirates would go into half time down two goals. Junior midfielder Reegan von Wildenradt struck twice in the last two minutes to surprise the crowd with a 3-3 half-time score.

Bigfork came back and scored what proved to be the game winning goal in the 55th minute, despite being outshot overall in the game 13-12 by the Pirates. Though Hewston noted that the team lost both games, he had nothing but great things to say about the team’s effort in the final matches of the season.

“They came out playing combination soccer which is the game I coach versus the beginning of the year when our attack was one dimensional,” Hewston said. “They took multiple touches before the shot. They looked like a whole new team and just played great.”

Hewston was also impressed with how the seniors contributed all season, and made this campaign a success in several regards, despite a losing record.

“In the end, we scored 17 goals,” Hewston said. “The beauty is not only did they triple their goal total from last year but that there were no stars. Lots of people contributed, and it was a well rounded team, which is always good.”

Now that this season has come and gone, Hewston is already excited for the next season to begin.

“We really do look positive for next year,” Hewston said. “For anyone that didn’t get to see the last few games of this season, that was Polson Pirate soccer and that’s what you can expect for next year.”