Swashbucklers!
Junior Jon Murphy celebrates with senior Marcus Corley after he scored a goal against Whitefish on Saturday.
Junior Giorgio Traini handles the ball for Polson during their game against Whitefish on Friday. The Pirates defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 to clinch at least the second seed in the playoffs.
POLSON - The Polson boys' soccer picked the perfect time to make a historic first. Not only did their 2-1 win on Saturday over Whitefish give the Pirates (5-0-1 conf., 6-3-1 overall) their first season sweep over the Bulldogs, but they also clinched at least the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
"I am so proud of how well the boys played in this game," head coach Jess Kittle said. "Our defensive players all did a fantastic job limiting the Whitefish attack."
After a scoreless first half, where Polson goalkeeper Clay Frissell made some tremendous saves to keep things even, the Pirates shifted the lineup and it paid immediate dividends.
"It was a total team effort," Kittle said. "I know that is such a coaches' cliché but everyone stepped up their game."
Three minutes into the second half, senior Marcus Corley was able to take an assist from senior Trevor Moll and found the back of the net.
"I was in front of the near post and I leaned back and went far-post for the goal," Corley, who has been playing through a groin injury all season, said.
Thirteen minutes later, Moll scored a goal of his own after junior Giorgio Traini sucked in the entire Whitefish defense in front of the goal.
"The ball punched out to the left, I hit it cross body and it went in far-post," Moll said.
Whitefish did score on a penalty kick during the 59th minute, but other than that, their offense was held in check by the Pirates.
"Our defense held tough," Kittle said. "We were solid all the way through. We had a few balls go off the crossbar. They were a little scary."
Along with beating Whitefish, Polson also avenged an early season loss to Stillwater with a 2-1 victory on Sept. 28. Stillwater had the early 1-0 lead in the first half, but goals from Moll and sophomore James Larson in the second half gave the Pirates the victory.
Polson will play Bigfork at 3 p.m. tonight at home, and then travel to play Libby at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a game that will determine who gets the No. 1 seed in the Northwestern A conference.
GAME NOTES: Senior John Walk has been suffering from an ankle sprain but should be back this week for the Pirates. Whitefish's goal was just the second conference goal given by Polson.