Polson U18 girls squad wins state soccer title

Chalk up another state title for Polson.

The U18 Polson FC girls spring soccer squad won a state championship with a 6-1 victory over Laurel at the State Cup last weekend at Great Falls. The team advanced to the title tilt with a sweep of pool play competition, which included a pair of shutouts and a close one.

All three of their opponents serve as feeder programs for high school teams that qualified for postseason berths last fall. Polson blanked Livingston 6-0, edged Laurel 3-2 and completed a 2-0 shutout over Stevensville to advance to the championship match as the top seed.

Laurel broke the stalemate in the championship match on a goal from two-time all-state junior-to-be Mya Maack (the second leading scorer in Class A state soccer last Fall). Polson responded within minutes with a counter strike from Kyla Heiser to knot the contest at one apiece. A mere minute before halftime, Polson right winger Skyleigh Thompson sent a crossing ball that ricocheted off a Laurel defender and into the net, giving Polson a 2-1 halftime advantage.

Polson erupted with a flurry during second-half action. Midfielder Mila Hawk scored her first goal of the season to kick off a string of four Polson goals in 11 minutes, including goals by Tia Mercer, Skyleigh Thompson (on a free kick), and Autumn Burland.

Jazlyn Dalbey was tasked with marking Laurel's Mya Maack and did a great job staying with her the whole game.

"I subbed Jazlyn out for about five minutes, to give her a little break,” Polson Coach Jess Kittle said. "But she came right back to me and said that she could mark her for as long as I wanted to leave her in there. I let Jaz stay with her for the rest of the game and she completely locked Mya down. It was impressive to watch."

Goalkeeper Megan Rost had a great championship game, stopping several hard shots from Laurel. She also supplied two assists from the keeper position over the weekend, one against Livingston in their pool play opener as well as assisting on Autumn's goal in the championship game.

Over the course of the championship weekend the Polson team went 4-0, scoring 17 goals and only allowing three.

"Everything about this entire weekend was about the team working together and the players working hard to make the team better,” Kittle said. “Our attackers capitalizing on their opportunities to score goals, the midfielders controlling the pace of the game and distributing the ball, and the defense locking down the other teams attackers. Everyone did their job to the best of their abilities. I am so proud of everyone."

Polson finished the Montana Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) regular schedule undefeated with a 7-0-1 record with no losses. Coupled with their State Cup sweep culminates in an 11-0-1 record against MYSA competition.

The 2021 State Cup title was the second Polson FC state championship in the last four years.

Silver lining for U14 soccer squad

The U14 middle school age division Polson FC girls soccer squad came extremely close to matching the accomplishments of their older high school age counterparts when they qualified for the U14 championship, then extended the match through the first tier of the penalty kick shootout before succumbing to a 1-2 sudden death shootout shortfall. The match was an impressive display of poise under pressure as the U14 girls team secured the silver medal with a second place runner-up finish.

Eight players factored into the scoring over the weekend with Madyson Luikart spearheading the effort with a weekend tally of five goals with two assists. London Davis turned in a weekend hat trick of three cumulative goals, followed by a goal and three assists from Kellyn Nelson. Kila Cannon along with Haislea Sternick pitched in solo goals in the tournament opener supplemented by assists from Rosselyn Lies, Vivian Grainey as well as Embree Bird over the course of the weekend.

2021 Montana State Cup

Siebel Soccer Complex, Great Falls

June 18-20

HIGH SCHOOL AGE DIVISION

U17g championship

Polson FC 6, Laurel Storm 1

Polson 2 4 – 6

Laurel 1 0 – 1

L – g Mya Maack 33'

P – g Kyla Heiser (a Mila Hawk) 35'

P – g Own Goal (a Skyleigh Thompson) 39'

P – g Mila Hawk (a Autumn Burland) 51'

P – g Tia Mercer (a Skyleigh Thompson) 56'

P – g Skyleigh Thompson (freekick) 59'

P – g Autumn Burland (a Megan Rost) 61'

KEEPER – P(Megan Rost)

U17 pool play

Polson FC 2, Stevi Sabres 0

Stevensville 0 0 – 0

Polson 1 1 – 2

P – g Skyleigh Thompson (a Ali Hupka) 26'

P – g Autumn Burland 41'

KEEPER – P(Megan Rost)

(Sa19Jun21) 35' halves U17g

Polson FC 3, Laurel Storm 2

Polson 2 1 – 3

Laurel 1 1 – 2

P – g Autumn Burland 6'

P – g Kyla Heiser 12'

L – g Mya Maack 21'

P – g A.Burland (a Tia Mercer) 47'

L – g Mya Maack 64'

KEEPER – P(Megan Rost)

Polson FC 6, Livingston Raiders 0

Livingston 0 0 – 0

Polson 2 4 – 6

P – g Skyleigh Thompson (a Megan Rost) 14'

P – g Lilly Armstrong (freekick) 16'

P – g Autumn Burland (a Skyleigh Thompson) 48'

P – g Sky.Thompson (a Tia Mercer) 55'

P – g A.Burland (a Sky.Thompson) 62'

P – g Sky.Thompson (a A.Burland) 65'

KEEPER – P(Megan Rost)

U14 girls State Cup

U14g championship black

Livingston Raiders 2, Polson FC 1 SO (5-4)

P – g Madyson Luikart (a Kellyn Nelson) 24'

PK(kfpm) shootout: (best-of-five) 3-3, (sudden death) 1-2

U14g Polson FC 1, Livingston Raiders 0

P – g London Davis (a Embree Bird) 14'

U14g Polson FC 9, Mining City 0

P – g Madyson Luikart (a Kellyn Nelson) 5'

P – g M.Luikart 10'

P – g M.Luikart (a K.Nelson) 22'

P – g Kila Cannon (a Rosselyn Lies) 25'

P – g London Davis (a M.Luikart) 26'

P – g Haislea Sternick (a Vivian Grainey) 31'

P – g K.Nelson 35'

P – g M.Luikart 44'

P – g London Davis (a M.Luikart) 46'