Polson boys down Whitefish for State A soccer crown

POLSON — The fourth time was the charm for the Polson Pirates, who rode two Afton Hatch goals and sterling play from keeper Maddox Bird to their first State A boys soccer title, 4-0 over Whitefish Saturday.

Hatch headed in a rebound on a long set play in the match’s 13th minute, and Polson got a goal Truman Sawyer off a helper from Dion Lichtenberg two minutes later to put ample pressure on the Bulldogs, who had matched up with Polson in the Pirates’ three previous trips to the championship.  

The opening tally came when Roman Sawyer’s free kick from midfield bounced in front of the goal, forcing Bulldog keeper Ben Nelson to leap high to make a deflection.  

There was Hatch to make it 1-0. 

“We’ve been working on set plays and we’ve become pretty good at them,” fourth-year Polson coach Josie Lies said. “Our goal is to put it right there and put some pressure on the goalie and try to get the rebound. We haven’t played Whitefish, so we weren’t sure how the goalie would be, so we thought we’d challenge him. It worked out.” 

At the other end Bird was dynamite in front of the net, making an excellent save shortly before Hatch scored his second goal, off a feed from Lichtenberg in the 45th minute. Whitefish is a dangerous team, particularly Kyler Johnson (21 goals) and Jack Oehlerich (19), but the Bulldogs couldn’t break through on Bird. 

“He’s amazing,” Lies (pronounced, LEASE) said. “He probably has the most natural talent I’ve ever seen. He makes it look really easy. We know we’re in good hands when it gets close to the goal.  

“He’s also the most positive person on the team so he keeps them going, keeps them up. He’s a really good leader that way.” 

Sawyer took advantage of a perfectly centered free kick from Litchtenberg for Polson’s fourth goal in the 55th minute. Polson finished up 11-2-2. 

Whitefish (13-3) was playing in its 17th title game and gunning for its 11th boys title. The Bulldogs racked up two yellow cards. 

Unofficially Hatch came in with three goals; junior Jackson Bontadelli had a team-high 11. 

“We knew they would probably mark him and keep him from scoring,” Lies said of Bontadelli. “His job today was just dish and set some of the other guys up, and he did a great job of doing that.” 

Polson’s previous title appearances ended in losses in 2002, 2011 and 2018. The Pirates were 2-10-0 in 2021, the year before Lies was hired. 

“We've never made it past the first (playoff) round in my whole high school career, so this is incredible,” Bird told 406mtsports.com. “When we were freshmen, we played Whitefish and lost 8-0.” 

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to coach these boys over the last four years,” Lies said. “It’s awesome to see the success after their hard work, and for these seniors especially.” 

Whitefish    0    0    -    0 

Polson    2    2    -    4 

P — Afton Hatch (Roman Sawyer), 13:00 

P — Truman Sawyer (Dion Litchtenberg), 15:00 

P — Hatch (Lichtenberg), 46:00 

P — R. Sawyer (Lichtenberg), 65:00 

Shots on goal — Whitefish 9, Polson 17. Keeper saves — Whitefish (Ben Nelson, Charlie Dow) 9, Polson (Maddox Bird) 8. Corner kicks — Whitefish 4, Polson 5. Fouls — Whitefish 12, Polson 9. Cards — Whitefish 2 yellow.

NOTE: This story has been updated to show the correct scorer of Polson's second goal, Truman Sawyer, and to add team statistics.