Lady Pirates have one goal in mind: the playoffs

BIGFORK — In the spring, you play for the state cup. In the fall, you play to ride in the fire truck.

That’s the goal for the Polson girls soccer team, who have showed a lot of resilience in their quest for the playoffs.

“ I think we can do it if we have the motivation,” Polson goalkeeper Jacie Morrison. “The seniors want it and there’s a lot of players on the team that want it.”

The Lady Pirates (2-3 conf., 3-4-1 overall) showed tenacity in their 5-1 victory over Bigfork last Thursday on the road. Senior Laura Rost scored twice in the contest along with goals from senior Sarah Devlin, Sara Robinson and junior Brynn Rowley.

“They were resilient,” Polson head coach Michael Hewston said. “They controlled that entire game.”

Hewston said that the team has been getting together on the bus before games for team talks and it has been paying off.

“They’re still playoff bound,” Hewston said. “It’s still a focus. They play for each other.”

While the girls did lose to Columbia Falls (4-1 conf., 6-2 overall) 3-1 on Saturday, Hewston said that the team showed a lot of heart when junior Madeline Hewston scored a goal in the final five minutes.

“There’s still quite a bit of fight in that little dog,” Hewston. “We’re still peaking and volleying. They’re either playing at 112 degrees or 111 degrees. That’s the difference between steaming and scalding.”

At press time on Tuesday, there was a three-way tie for third place in the Northwestern A conference standings between Polson, Libby and Bigfork.

“If we can beat Bigfork [again] and Libby, it’s a real possibility [to make the playoffs],” Hewston said. “They’re playing fantastic as a team.”

It would be a last hurrah for the eight seniors.

“If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it this year,” Morrison said.

The Polson fire department better get their truck ready.