Polson Pirates soccer wins three straight contests

The Polson Pirates soccer team had experienced some setbacks when they had to reschedule and rearrange their schedule because of the wild fires.

The rescheduling caused the Pirates to have a long week playing three games this week.

The Pirates responded by winning three consecutive matches in a row to put them in the driver’s seat of their conference as they prepare to head into the final stretch of the regular season.

The Pirates won their first match against Big Fork Tuesday 8-0. The team got three goals from Robin Erickson and two from Mack Moderie. They also got goals from Bridger Wenzel, Conner Lanier, and Michael Vergeront.

“We played really well at that match,” Adam Fansher said. “We got a lot of guys who hadn’t gotten a lot of minutes of playing time for us. To get those guys some varsity minutes in a competitive match and get them varsity experience was invaluable. It is difficult to adjust to the speed of the varsity game because it is a lot faster than at the JV level.”

Polson 3, Columbia Falls 1

The Pirates were able to get three times as many shots on goal in their second match of the week in their 3-1 victory over Columbia Falls Thursday at Columbia Falls.

The Pirates got goals from Keyan Dalbey, Mack Moderie, and Michael Vergeront in the victory.

“Those conference games are a lot of fun and the Columbia Falls game couldn’t have started any worse because in the first minutes they had a penalty kick,” Fansher said. “Their player missed it and after kind of a shaky start for us, we had control of the whole game. We kept really good possession of the ball and scored three goals. We really didn’t give them a chance to keep the ball.”

Fansher said he expects to be challenged by C-Falls again in conference play.

“They have some dangerous players who have some speed up to the top and keep the ball for long periods of time,” Fansher said. “I was pleased with our team’s ability to control the game against a conference opponent at their place. They were a good test for us.”

Polson 2, Whitefish 1

The Polson Pirates 2-1 victory over conference opponent Whitefish Saturday at Polson High School was a big victory for the team.

The Pirates are now an undefeated 3-0 in the conference and have a 5-1-1 overall record.

Michael Vergeront and Erickson both scored goals in this critical conference contest.

“Whitefish was one of the top teams in the state this year,” Fansher said. “Our team can play with anyone, do it in a way we can control the match, and are comfortable and confident. Our team really played a good game against them and we controlled the game for most of the way.