Polson's young scorers starting to show their potential

by Brandon Hansen & Sports Editor
| September 22, 2011 8:00 AM

Polson picked up their first conference victory of the season last Thursday with a 3-1 road victory over Libby.

"This is the first time I've seen the Lady Pirates defeat Libby," Polson head coach Michael Hewston said. "The overall flow of the game was ours. Everything about it was positive."

The Lady Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half behind goals by freshman Sarah Howell, who got an assist from senior Madeline Hewston in the 21st minute.

Sophomore Sara Robinson would score later in the half thanks to an assist by Brynn Rowley, in the 29th minute.

"The young players and the freshmen are really stepping up to the cause," Hewston said.

While Libby cut it to 2-1 in the second half, Annie Venters scored in the 60th minute to seal the deal. Polson outshot the Lady Loggers 14-4 and goalkeeper Monica Cleveland came up with four goalie saves.

Freshman Keely Clairmont is also starting to discover her speed out on the pitch, Hewston added, and Linnea Madsen, Sarah Howell and Grace Rehbein have all looked impressive as freshmen.

Whitefish 6, Polson 0

Goalkeeper Monica Cleveland had 15 saves but Whitefish was aggressive on offense and came away with the 6-0 victory on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

The Lady Bulldogs scored five goals in the first half, but the Lady Pirates were able to make adjustments in the second half and held them to just one goal.

"When we started off the season we wondered how we were going to fill the gap that [last year's senior goalie] Jacie Morrison left," Hewston said. "Monica has really stepped up at that job."

Hewston added that Cleveland had been working over the summer with Polson head boys coach Jess Kittle and her dad to refine her skills in the goalkeeper position. He also said that Shannon McGinnis has done a good job in goal this year as well.

Belgrade 10, Polson 2

Freshmen Keely Clairmont and Sarah Howell both scored goals for the Lady Pirates but Belgrade came away with the 10-2 victory last Saturday.

Polson had 16 goalkeeper saves in the matchup.