Mercer finishes season with nine goals
The 2015 Pirates (8-3-2 all, 6-0-2 conference) captured the Northern A crown by posting the third best overall record in the history of the Polson boys soccer program. The only other time the Pirates have posted an undefeated conference slate was the 2010 season (9-4-1 all, 7-0-1 conference). Beyond that, the earliest occurrence of the Pirates being crowned conference champions traces back to 2002 (8-3-3 all, 4-1-3 conference). The deepest forays by a Polson team into the postseason took place in 2011 (9-4-2 all, 6-2 conference) and 2002 when the Pirates came out on the short end of the scoreboard against Whitefish in the championship title tilt.
While the Magic Mike tandem of Mercer and Vergeront almost accounted for half of Pirate goal productivity this past fall, it was the overall balance of the team as a whole which made them so difficult to contain. The high level of skill fundamentals among the influx of newer players expanded the number of weaponry options available to the Pirate arsenal, making it difficult for opponents to mark a few players in an effort to shut down the volatility of the Polson attack. Solid fundamentals among a more extensive player pool than in recent years meant that fresh legs could be substituted upon greater frequency with little dilution in Pirate pitch plundering potency.
The success experienced during the just completed schedule will assuredly whet the appetite for more within both players and fans for seasons to come. In the meantime, the Pirates bid farewell to a trio of sensational senior contributors in defenders Jaben Wenzel, Dylan Cooper and Sutton Kanta.
2015VarsityScoring (28g25a) – Mike Mercer 9g4a, Michael Vergeront 4g2a, Alex Encizo 3g7a, Connor Lanier 3g1a, Jaben Wenzel 3g, Mack Moderie 2g3a, Andrew Hanson 2g2a, Sutton Kanta 1g, Bridger Wenzel 1g, Ben River 2a, Linde Lambson 2a, Emilio Hernandez 1a, Danny DiGiallonardo 1a, Russ Smith >46sv, Hanson 18sv.
2015JVScoring (*jv13g5a) – Robin Erickson (*jv4g), Noah Volesky (v1g negated offside, *jv1g1a), Nico River (*jv2g3a), Connor Lanier *jv1g, Bridger Wenzel *jv1g, Alex Wall-Wilbert *jv1g, Mack Moderie *jv(1g), Alex Mausshardt *jv1g, Xavier Stalk fleet *jv1g.
{Asterisk (*) denotes data from 3gms unavailable for integration - CFallsJV (M14Sep15), CFallsJV (Th24Sep15), FrenchtownJV (M05Oct15)}
Cumulative Career – Mercer 14g7a, Hanson 5g3a, Kanta 2g1a, B.River 3a, Smith >64sv.
At Polson, the Mission Valley Christian Academy boys and the Polson Junior Varsity tangled on the turf in an intercommunity scrimmage which yielded community bragging rights as the laurel worn by the victor. Jake Windauer scored a hat trick, Nick Windauer tallied a brace and Lucca Maddy knotted the first goal for MVCA. Scoring for the Polson JV was provided by Alex Mausshardt, Robin Erickson and Xavier Stalkfleet. The MVCA boys squad wraps up their season with a 2-0 record on the year.
MVCA 3 4 – 7
PHSJV 1 2 – 3
MVCA – g Lucca Maddy 9’
PHS JV – g Alex Mausshardt 22’
MVCA – g Jake Windauer (a Brady Shipley) 26’
MVCA – g Nick Windauer 27’
PHS JV – g Robin Erickson (a Noah Volesky) 46’
PHS JV – g Xavier Stalkfleet 49’
MVCA – g Jake Windauer (a Nick Windauer) 54’
MVCA – g Nate Goodrich (a Jake Windauer) 58’
MVCA – g Jake Windauer (a Nick Windauer) 59’
MVCA – g Nick Windauer (a Jake Windauer) 65’