Making headway
Polson defeats Corvallis 2-1 to win their first postseason game since 2002 and advance to the Class A Semifinals
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After a five-year absence from the playoffs, the Polson Pirates wanted to make sure they stuck around for a while, and thanks to the toe of Jon Heutmaker and the knee of Sean Hart, they’ll get to play for at least another week.
With only four minutes to play in the first playoff game Polson has ever hosted Saturday, Heutmaker, a sophomore striker, streaked to a lob from Jonathan Murphy and just got a toe on the ball that deflected off Hart’s knee and dribbled past Corvallis goalie Eric Kercher to lift Polson to a 2-1 victory and set up a date with Belgrade next Saturday in the Class A semifinals.
“It came over the top and fell right to me and I got a foot on it. Basically, from there you can’t miss,” Heutmaker said. “I was sprinting as fast as I could and I got a toe on it.”
“I was so happy. It was the greatest feeling ever to know you’ve worked so hard and now we’re ahead again and that much closer to having a longer season. Everything was on the line,” Heutmaker said.
Hart’s goal erased 15 minutes of frustration for the Pirates. After the Pirates dominated the first half and took a 1-0 lead into the break, the Blue Devils made some adjustment and kept constant pressure on the Pirates the second half, scoring the equalizer in the 51st minute on a shot that the Pirates didn’t feel crossed the line.
“It was angering to say the least. At first we were just kicking it. Then we slowed down a bit and started passing the ball and then we got lucky and finished,” said senior captain Trever Moll, who gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead on his sixth goal in his last five games.
After Blue Devil Chris Grenfell scored the questionable equalizer, Polson coach Jess Kittle had little doubt how his team would respond. They had three come-from-behind wins during the regular season and were able to turn their season around after going winless the first four games.
“They never give up. These guys have no give up in them and they know they can come from behind and do the work that’s needed,” Kittle said, adding he wouldn’t mind if they just start scoring goals early. “If we could do that, I wouldn’t tell them to stop scoring.”
Saturday was Polson’s first playoff game since 2005 and the first playoff game they’ve ever hosted and they came out on fire. They dominated possession and created a lot of opportunities early on and were able to take a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. After Kittle moved senior captain Sean Hart to the wing to take advantage of a Blue Devil defender they thought was a step too slow to guard him, Hart dribbled all the way down to about 6 feet to the right of the goal post, before crossing the ball. Moll fought his way through a trio of defenders, to knock the ball into the lower-left corner of the goal to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead and extend his goal streak to five games.
“That kid (Moll) can pretty much dribble through anybody. He keeps the ball glued to his feet and he can work the ball around defenders and really own the midfield,” Kittle said.
The Pirates continued to keep pressure on the Blue Devils the rest of the half, but weren’t able to add onto the lead. In the second half the momentum switched and the Blue Devils started pressuring the Pirates.
“I thought we outpossesed them in the first half. They made some adjustments at halftime and we didn’t counter with good enough adjustments of our own,” Kittle said. “They were able to dictate more of the second-half play in their favor. I tell you, that makes for a long 40 minutes for a coach.”
Even with the momentum switch, the Pirates still outshot the Blue Devils 15-4. Pirate goalkeeper Clay Frissell made three saves. It was the 12th straight game the Pirates have only given up one goal or less.
The two teams combined for 41 fouls (Polson 22, Corvallis 19).
“It was intense. They were fouling left and right and we were starting to get dirty. It was just one of those hard fought games that means a lot to win,” said Moll, who like the rest of the Pirates was playing in his first playoff game.
The win was Kittle’s first playoff win and afterward he was at a loss for words.
“This is, I can’t put words on it right now,” Kittle said.
The Pirates (9-3-1) will host Belgrade Saturday at 2 p.m. The Panthers beat the Pirates 1-0 in their game in Belgrade Sept. 10.
Summary
Polson 2, Corvallis 1
Corvallis01–1
Polson11–2
P - Trever Moll (Sean Hart), 15:00
C - Chris Grenfell, 51:00
P - Sean Hart (Jon Heutmaker), 76:00
