Polson boys soccer clinch top seed

It was a tale of two finishes for Polson soccer this past week. The Pirate boys closed out their regular season with a dominant win to clinch the top seed in the Southern A, while the Lady Pirates saw their playoff hopes dashed in a frustrating series of results that fell out of their control.

Pirate Boys Lock Up No. 1 Seed

The Polson boys left no doubt about who rules the Southern A, storming past Frenchtown 8-0 on Oct. 7 to secure the conference’s top playoff seed and home-field advantage in the first round of the postseason.

Polson (7-2-2 overall, 5-1-1 conference) poured on the offense from the opening whistle, scoring five goals in the first half and adding three more in the second.

Senior striker Jackson Bontadelli led the charge with two goals and one assist, while fellow senior Roman Sawyer netted two goals — including a first-half header off a corner from Cruz Lies. Lies added a goal and an assist of his own, while Edgar Vejez-Pete continued his red-hot playmaking streak with one goal and four assists.

Also scoring for the Pirates were Isaac Kinnick, Parker Hendrickson, and Vejez-Pete.

Polson outshot Frenchtown 44–6 and put 24 shots on goal in one of its most complete performances of the season.

With the win, Polson will host the first round of the playoffs.

The Pirates have been balanced all year, led offensively by Bontadelli (10 goals, 5 assists) and Vejez-Pete (6 goals, 7 assists), with key contributions from Sawyer (7 goals, 3 assists) and Dion Lichtenberg (5 goals, 3 assists).

The Polson Pirates kept rolling Thursday night with a convincing 3-1 road win over Corvallis, improving to 8-2-2 overall and 6-1-1 in conference action.

Polson dominated possession throughout, outshooting the Blue Devils 26-3 and controlling the midfield behind another standout performance from Dion Lichtenberg. The senior forward scored twice, once late in the first half and again early in the second, both assisted by Cruz Lies.

Just a minute after Lichtenberg’s second goal, Jackson Bontadelli added insurance off a feed from Archer Russell to make it 3-0. Corvallis got on the board in the 74th minute, but Polson’s defense, anchored by goalkeeper Maddox Bird with three saves, kept the Blue Devils from threatening further.

The Pirates generated five corner kicks and drew just one card in the match.

Lady Pirates Fall Short of Playoffs

On the girls’ side, the Polson Lady Pirates (5-6-1 overall, 5-4-1 conference) needed a win and a little help to slip into the postseason as the No. 3 seed. Despite a strong finish to their schedule, the pieces didn’t fall their way.

Polson picked up a critical 2-1 win over Frenchtown on Oct. 7 behind goals from Kellyn Nelson (assisted by Emily Simonich) and Viviane Armstrong, but a 2-2 draw with Corvallis later in the week proved costly.

To qualify, Polson needed a Loyola loss to Hamilton — which didn’t happen — and a Corvallis upset over Loyola to close the regular season. Both results went the other way, eliminating Polson from postseason contention.

Despite the disappointment, the Lady Pirates can hang their hats on several standout performances. Junior Amelia McCarthy, Viviane Armstrong, and Nelson each scored three goals apiece, while Emily Simonich led the team in assists (3). Goalkeeper Olivia Ramirez was steady in net, recording four saves against Frenchtown and keeping Polson in tight matches throughout the season.

The Lady Pirates finish with a +14 goal differential, evidence of a strong defensive core anchored by Nelson, Vivian Gonzalez, and Madi Young.