This Saturday, both Polson soccer teams will be making a pilgrimage of the pitch down to the Bitterroot for the first round of the soccer playoffs.

Both teams locked up 2nd-seeds and therefore drew Southern A conference champs as their opponents. 

On the boys side of the soccer slate, the Pirates (6-4) will face off against the undefeated two-time defending State A champion Corvallis.

The Blue Devils rely heavily upon a two pronged attack of senior forwards Emmett Semple and Cayden Ayers. Both have collaborated to lead Class A scoring the past pair of seasons. Ayers also kicks footballs on the gridiron and the 41 yard field goal he converted earlier this season is indicative of the kind of range he can implement on the soccer pitch as well. Consequently, the Pirates won’t be putting on any airs about the capabilities of Ayers, nor will it be a simple task to counter Semple as they prepare to disrupt the dynamics of the Devils for the right to advance to the next round.

By contrast, the Pirate attack gravitates toward a more multi-prong oriented approach. While a quartet of players have tallied multi-goal games, another half dozen have factored into the scoring to tussle the twine with their toes. Factor in involvement from the preceding season and Polson has utilized at least a dozen players in spreading the wealth around in its attack. This aspect increases the difficulty level of opponents to identify and mark players to curtail offensive productivity because of the variety of weapons available within the Pirate arsenal.

Corvallis may have accrued more goals than Polson by double digit proportion this season, but an overlooked aspect is that other Southern A playoff contenders have surrendered goals in the 30s and 40s in comparison to the teens and 20s within the Northern A ranks. Another consideration to weigh is that the two teams have played four opponents in common that include a pair of Eastern A contenders and Southern A Loyola.

The comparable spread in scoring by both teams against these common playoff bound opponents suggests a closer matchup is anticipated than can be merely surmised from totaling the number of goals each has scored and merely using that as a template. Because both Corvallis and Polson reflect comparable numbers when it comes to goals scored against, defenses that are able to repel incursions is liable to play a pivotal role in the outcome. Seasoned senior Pirate defenders are anticipated to play influential roles as they called upon to weigh anchor on Blue Devil aspirations. Pirate head coach Adam Fansher points out that Corvallis “presents a great opportunity for the players to make a name for themselves. [With] just about everyone back from injuries and a full week of training to prepare, the [Pirates] will be confident they can get a good result … and will be looking to make up for some missed opportunities.”