Polson boys win third conference title

The Polson Pirates won their first conference championship since 2010 with wins this past week against Columbia Falls and Libby. They will host Billings Central on Saturday in Polson.

 Polson 1 Libby 1

At Polson on senior night last Tuesday, the host Pirates and visiting Loggers engaged in a battle royale which remained scoreless through the first half, then culminated in a 1-1 draw.  Polson almost took the lead shortly past the ten minute mark when Linde Lambson booted the ball into the back of the net off an apparent assist from Mike Mercer following a corner kick, but the play was negated on account of an offsides ruling.  The first half was evenly matched, both squads taking about seven shots at the other team goal, many of which were either deflected by defenders or saved by the keeper.

Just after intermission, Alex Encizo slanted a precision pass through a seam between Libby defenders while Mike Mercer intercepted the vector, then rifled the ball past the diving keeper for a Polson 1-0 lead.  The Pirates almost capitalized about four minutes later when Michael Vergeront blasted a feed from Mercer at the Libby keeper, who deflected the ball back at Vergeront, who uncorked yet another salvo that was likewise deflected, then gathered in. Libby would succeed in knotting their equalizer minutes before the halfway juncture of the second period to tie the contest 1-1. Key defensive plays were turned in by seniors Jaben Wenzel and Dylan Cooper, whose hustle diffused  multiple troublesome encroachments upon Polson real estate around the goal.  Also turning in superb defensive efforts were Danny DiGiallonardo and Emilio Hernandez, the latter diffusing a pair of  problematic forays that had scoring potential written all over them.

Libby    0  1  – 1

Polson  0  1  –  1

P – g Mike Mercer (a Alex Encizo) 41’

L – g Gio Cano (a Cody Wood) 56’

SHOTS(on goal) – Libby 10, Polson 6.

SAVES – Libby 9 (Raffael Webber), Polson 5 (Andrew Hanson).

CORNERKICKS – Libby 3, Polson 7.

FOULS – Libby 7, Polson 4.

PindivSH(sog) – Mercer (sog51’, sog25’defdefl, wide6’), Michael Vergeront (sog45’x2,71’,77’; soghdr69’; sog46’,68’defdefl, ), Mack Moderie (sog72’; sog68’defdefl; over7’,8’; wide64’), Linde Lambson (g11’, wide38’,64’), Danny DiGiallonardo (sog2’defdefl, wide46’), Ben River (wide53’), Nico River (sog64’defdefl). (Tu06Oct15)

LLindivSH(sog) – Colin Maloney (sog5’,54’; sog51’x2; sogck16’), Cody Wood (sog34’defdefl; sogdk27’), Cano (sog78’defdefl), Zander Peterson (sogdk34’,53’,73’; sog74’), Ryan Nagle (soghdr72’, wide36’), Bryant Reis (sog60’), Austin Swartzenberger (sog34’defdefl)

Polson 2

Columbia Falls 1

At Columbia Falls this past Thursday, the visiting Pirates rallied in the second half which culminated with an undefeated conference slate by prevailing in a close contest against the host Wildcats. The Pirates were facing a vastly improved and more spirited Cat squad which they had shutout 6-0 in their earlier encounter.  Polson coach Adam Fansher and staff pointed out that the Pirates struggled to capitalize upon some golden scoring chances, thereby making matters “a big more difficult than they needed to be.  However, [the Pirates] had the confidence and self-belief to fight their way through those moments and their persistence paid off.”

The Pirates netted the equalizer when Alex Encizo redirected the trajectory of a Michael Vergeront header of a Mack Moderie cross to tie the match.  Then Vergeront found a seam in the defense to drive home the go ahead goal off a Mike Mercer assist that would capture the booty of the coveted conference crown.

Polson (6-0-2, 8-2-2) secures the Northern A top seed and will host the visiting (2E) Billings Central Rams (8-2) this Saturday. The Pirates have only won the conference crown thrice in their soccer history – in 2010 when they likewise went undefeated in Northern A (7-0-1 conf, 8-3-1 reg) and in 2002 when they won the Eastern A conference crown (4-1-3 conf, 6-2-3 reg).

Polson   0  2  –  2

C Falls  1  0  –  1

CF – g Hunter Peterson (a Jakob Grein) 25’

P – g Alex Encizo (a1 Michael Vergeront hdr, a2 Mack Moderie x) 52’

P – g Vergeront (a Mike Mercer)  60’

SHOTS(on Goal) – Columbia Falls 11, Polson 25(10)

SAVES – CF 23 (Brandon Karberg), Polson 10 (Andrew Hanson)

CORNER KICKS – CF6, Polson11.

FOULS – CF5, P13. CARDS – Yellow, CF1.

PindivSH(sog) – Linde Lambson 6(3), Mercer4(1), Moderie 4, Ben River 3(2),

Encizo 3(2), Vergeront (1), Dylan Cooper (1).  KEY: hdr = header, x = cross

Looking ahead, an assortment of aspects are interwoven into the tapestry of success undergirding the 2015 Northern A champion Pirates. 

A seasoned core of upperclassmen provide much of the framework that infuses some of the inter dynamics among the team.  After multiple seasons of being relegated to the bottom rung of the hierarchical ladder, these upperclassmen had acquired an appetite for dining at a table with a better view from a higher perch. 

An influx of freshman who fortify Pirate formidability include midfielder Bridger Wenzel, midfielder Connor Lanier, and forward Mack Moderie.

Postseason play accommodates for an expansion of the Pirate roster, but the player(s) had yet to be selected as of Tuesday. 

Half of the Pirate roster is comprised of underclassmen, yet their contingent has contributed more than half the goals that the Pirates have scored this season. This phenomenon traces to mastery of fundamentals at the younger strata of the Polson Youth Soccer Association.

Another aspect that converges with seasoning and fundamental mastery is the number of weapons available in the Pirate arsenal.  Nine different players have scored goals this season with ten among the roster contributing assists.   Such a high number of contributors makes it difficult for opposing teams to mark any particular player in an effort to shut down the Pirate offense.    

Polson anticipates that the Billings Central Rams will be a very formidable opponent during their playoff game on Saturday. Coach Fansher considers them to be the most dangerous number two seed in the entire tournament.   Fansher commented, “I’m expecting the match to be played with a lot of passion and the level of play to be very high.  It should be a great showcase for Class A soccer and I’m glad we get to be a part of it.”