Polson boys headed to state
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The Pirate boys’ soccer team is headed to the ultimate competition after making three penalty kicks against Hamilton on Saturday to earn a spot in the State A title game against Whitefish this Saturday.
Both teams scored early in the game, as James Larson scored for the Pirates at the two-minute mark and Cody Tredik knocked one in for Hamilton at the 12-minute mark. Polson’s goal came when Jon Murphy threw in a long ball, which landed right in front of James Larson as he knocked it into the net.
After the pair of scores, neither team would find the net for the following 68 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods.
During the penalty kick shootout, Hamilton won the coin toss and shot first. Hamilton made their first shot, but then missed the following three. This left the door wide open for Polson to win, but after missing the first penalty kick, the pressure was on.
Polson’s shooter was Nick Howell, who was very calm and just went up to the ball and passed it right into the net. After two rounds it was tied up 1-1. The third Hamilton shooter went up and missed the shot, and Polson’s James Larson came up to take a shot, as he passed the ball into the net right past the Hamilton keeper. Hamilton’s fourth shooter came up and shot a hard ball to the left side of the goal, but Peregrine Frissell was right there to block it.
Polson’s fourth shooter, Caden von Wildenradt struck the ball with power and put it right down the middle of the goal, with the keeper guessing to jump right, and was only able to get a slight touch on the ball.
In the game Hamilton took a total of five penalty kicks against Frissell, with only one going in and four missed.
“Peregrine blocked three of those misses,” head coach Jess Kittle said. “To be able to block three out of five penalty kicks is extremely rare. It was an impressive performance for him.”
“Hamilton is a good team and they played a great game,” Kittle added. “It was very intense and physical, I expect nothing less from Whitefish in the state title game this Saturday.”
Polson is the only Class A boys soccer team to have made it as far as the state semi-finals in the last two years.
“That is very impressive, that says a lot about the kids on this team,” Kittle said. “And how hard they work and how much desire and fight they have inside them.
Polson improved to 9-3-2 overall, and 6-2-0 in conference.
Whitefish will host the championship soccer game between the Whitefish Bulldogs and the Polson Pirates on Saturday, Oct. 29, at noon. The game will be played on the Rollie and Heide Smith Youth Sports Park Soccer Field in Whitefish.
SUMMARY
Polson 1 0 0 0 - 1
Hamilton 1 0 0 0 - 1
P - James Larson, 2:00
H - Cody Tredik, 12:00
Shots - Polson 6, Hamilton 14. Saves - Polson 6, Hamilton 2. Corner kicks - Polson 3, Hamilton 9. Total fouls - Polson 7, Hamilton 12. Yellow cards - Hamilton 1. Red cards - none.
