Pirates clinch No. 2 playoff seed
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The Polson Pirate soccer boys had a busy week as they closed out their regular season with three competitive games. Polson picked up a 8-0 win against Bigfork and downed Libby during senior day at home 3-0, but fell to Stillwater on the road, 6-0. The Pirates secured their No. 2 seed for playoffs when they upended Bigfork early in the week.
On Saturday, Polson rallied to overcome the Logger’s challenging style of play, as Libby put the heat on Polson’s defense.
“I’m proud of the way our guys played,” head coach Jess Kittle said. “Libby is a good team, and they will give Hamilton a good game in the first round of the playoffs.”
The trio of Riley Lemm, Jonah Kasnitz, and Jon Murphy pulled in one goal each for the Pirates, as Lemm’s goal came early on during the 22-minute mark. Late in the second half, Kasnitz scored at the 64-minute mark, with Murphy sealing the deal with a last-minute score at the 67-minute mark.
“Jon Murphy played a great game moving up and down the field for the whole game,” Kittle said. “Riley Lemm added another goal to his season total with a nice header. Jonah Kasnitz got his first varsity goal on a well-placed left-footed shot into the far upper corner.”
With the win, the Pirates ended their regular season with a record of 6-2-0 in conference and 7-3-2 overall.
Earlier in the week, Polson traveled to Kalispell to play a talented Stillwater team, where the Pirates fell 6-0 in a non-conference game.
On Thursday, the Pirates took on Bigfork for the second time this season in a conference game. The Pirates dismantled the Vikings, winning big, 8-0. The win guaranteed Polson the No. 2 seed for playoffs, which begin this weekend.
James Larson opened up the scoring 36 seconds into the competition. Riley Lemm followed with three consecutive scores in the 24, 29, and 34-minute marks to give Polson an early 4-0 lead.
Larson added another score 36 minutes in, as Peregrine Frissell picked up his first assist of the season.
VJ Araos followed with another score at the 42-minute mark, while Lemm and Nick Howell scored to bring Bigfork’s deficit to 8 down.
“It was nice to see both Nick Howell and VJ Araos both get their first goals of their varsity careers,” Kittle said.
Polson heads into the playoffs this weekend, where they will be playing at the winner of the “play-in” game from the No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams from the Eastern Conference.
SUMMARY
Regular season stats:
James Larson - 13g, 9a
Riley Lemm – 15g, 3a
Jon Murphy – 3g, 7a
Jon Heutmaker – 3g, 2a
Steven Walk – 1g, 2a
Nick Howell – 1g, 1a
Alex Helgeson - 1g, 1a
Peregrine Frissell – 1g, 1a
Morgan Moll – 1g, 0a
VJ Araos – 1g, 0a
Caden von Wildenradt – 1g, 0a
Jonah Kasnitz – 1g, 0a
Zach Calhoun 0g, 1a
Libby 0 0 - 0
Polson 1 2 - 3
P - Riley Lemm (Jon Murphy), 22:00
P - Jonah Kasnitz, 64:00
P - Murphy, 67:00
Shots - Libby 5, Polson 8. Saves - Libby 5 (Rob Hamilton), Polson 5 (Peregrine Frissell). Corner kicks - Libby 3, Polson 3. Total fouls - Libby 8, Polson 13. Yellow cards - Libby. Red cards - none.
Polson 0 0 - 0
Stillwater Ch. 5 1 - 6
SC - Josh Bray (Julian Emond), 1:00
SC - Zach Waldher (Bray), 3:00
SC - Waldher (Zach Falk), 30:00
SC - Bray (Zane Kloeckl), 31:00
SC - Waldher (Bray), 34:00
SC - Josh Topp (Jon LeGassey), 72:00
Shots - Polson 6, Stillwater Christian 15. Saves - Polson 9 (Peregrine Frissell), Stillwater Christian 6 (Trevor Holladay 4, LeGassey 2). Corner kicks - Polson 2, Stillwater Christian 7. Total fouls - unavailable. Yellow cards - none. Red cards - none.
Polson 5 3 - 8
Bigfork 0 0 - 0
P - James Larson, (assist Riley Lemm), 1:00
P - Lemm, Larson, 24:00
P - Lemm, Larson, 28:00
P - Lemm, 32:00
P - Larson, Peregrine Frissell, 34:00
P - VJ Araos, 42:00
P - Lemm, Larson, 48:00
P - Nick Howell, Larson, 49:00
Shots - Polson 20, Bigfork 15. Saves - Polson 3 (Frissell), Bigfork 3 (Dillon Hilling). Corner kicks - Polson 2, Bigfork 3. Total fouls - Polson 14, Bigfork 3. Yellow cards - Polson 1. Red cards - none.
