Lady Pirates bring senior leadership to pitch

The Polson girls soccer team returns 10 players from last year and four seniors. This means in 2024, the Lady Pirates should bring a lot of leadership, determination and experience to the field.

“The experiences that these girls have, individually and as a team, has prepared them to mentally and physically elevate their game this season, and we are excited to see what level we can get them to,” Polson Head Coach Heather Howell said.

The four seniors -- Haislea Sternick, Madyson Luikart, Kila Cannon, and LaurieLee Treux -- should provide veteran leadership while there is a strong group of incoming freshmen that should bolster the Lady Pirates’ ranks.

“The majority of this team was able to play together this past spring, which has made the incoming freshmen's transition to high school athletics much smoother,” Howell said.

Howell said that this group of players has exceeded the coaching staff’s expectations, and they expect that to continue throughout the rest of the season as they grow and learn.

“The biggest strength of this team is their coachability and willingness to push themselves, both individually and as a team,” Howell said. “They are willing to put in the work mentally and physically to improve, and it is going to show as this season progresses.”

The Lady Pirates' goals are to establish a team culture this year where they represent the program, school, and city in a respectful and professional manner on and off the field. They also want to continue to push themselves as athletes to grow in fitness, technique, tactics, and mental toughness. Polson also wants to strengthen its team culture and promote unity within the program with accountability to oneself, peers, and mentors.

Plus, they want to have fun.

“We want the Lady Pirate soccer program to be a program that athletes take pride in playing for, and where athletes can truly remember their love of the game,” Howell said. “We can push to improve ourselves and compete, while still having fun doing so! We expect this team to compete from the first game of the season, and only improve from there on out.”

Howell said that as a former Lady Pirate soccer player, she feels blessed to have the opportunity to return to the program as a head coach.

“I am also very appreciative to lead alongside three other Lady Pirate soccer alumni - Sarah Howell, Makenzie Wegner, and Ashlee Howell - who bring a multitude of experience and passion to this program,” Howell said. “Having such strong coaches to work with will provide our players with more individualized coaching and instruction and help set up our program for continued growth. The current Lady Pirates are a very special group of young ladies, and we feel honored to have the opportunity to step in and get to coach them. Go Lady Pirates.”