POLSON — The Polson boys soccer team split a pair of nonconference games at home last week, downing Loyola-Valley Christian 4-2 on Thursday before coming up just short in a 2-1 loss to Hamilton on Saturday.

POLSON — The Polson boys soccer team split a pair of nonconference games at home last week, downing Loyola-Valley Christian 4-2 on Thursday before coming up just short in a 2-1 loss to Hamilton on Saturday.

Coming off a loss against Bigfork in which the Pirates (1-2, 0-1) allowed four second-half goals by Austin Gordon to erase a 3-2 lead at half, the Polson players made head coach Jess Kittle much happier with how the they finished this time around.

Against Loyola, Alex Helgeson scored a pair of goals to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage at halftime.

Loyola’s Logan Reid knocked in a goal early in the second half, but the Pirates responded with two of their own, both by Jonah Kasnitz.

Helgeson and Kasnitz positioned themselves nicely throughout the game and consistently put the ball on target according to Kittle.

“Both did a great job of getting to the ball in front of the Loyola net and putting shots on frame,” Kittle said.

Reid managed to score another goal for Loyola, but the Polson defense clamped down to come away with the 4-2 victory. 

Leading Pirates’ defense in the game was Jacob Raymond, who Kittle said “played a very solid game.”

Sam Heutmaker, who came up with the assist on Helgeson’s first goal, stood out in the game as well according to Kittle by showcasing his versatility. 

“[He] played several different positions on the field and did a great job contributing wherever he played,” Kittle said.

James Larson and Sutton Kanta also had assists in the game, both to Kasnitz.

On Saturday against Hamilton, the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 for most of the game, with both teams coming close to breaking the tie throughout.

Morgan Moll, who connected for a goal on a header for Polson in the first half off of a Larson pass, came close to putting another away, but was thwarted by Broncs goalkeeper Niall Gallagher-Clancy.

“They have a good keeper,” Kittle said of Gallagher-Clancy. “He got to several of our shots that I thought were going to go in the net.”

Larson looked to have beaten the impressive goalkeeper late into the second half on a free kick from close range, as the ball was deflected and ricocheted off the right goalpost.

It wasn’t until there was just minutes left on the clock that the tie was finally broken, as Hamilton’s Tanner Crossman scored at the 79-minute mark to seal the team’s victory.

However, despite the loss, Kittle liked what he saw from his players in the game.

“We are still working on modifying our lineup, but I feel like this was the best game we played so far this season,” Kittle said. “We played a better possession game than we had in the first two games of the season.”

Steven Walk played especially well for the Pirates according to Kittle, helping the team keep the Hamilton offense at bay for most of the game.

“[He] did a good job controlling our defense from the sweeper position and using his speed to cut down the angle of the Hamilton attack,” Kittle said.

Polson will now prepare for a string of seven-straight conference matchups in the coming weeks, hoping to notch the team’s first Northern Conference win against Columbia Falls at home on Sept. 13.