Dogs fall short against Pirates

The Whitefish boys soccer team dropped a close match against Polson (5-2-0) Saturday.

The match was played under the lights at Memorial Field and marked the end of homecoming week for Whitefish High School sports.

Connor Lanier scored the lone goal for Polson, who led Whitefish in shots on goal 11 to five. Senior goalkeeper Marty Anderson had nine saves to Polson’s four.

Despite losing, head coach John Lacey was happy with how his team performed.

“Our effort was great. I thought it was a strong game against a strong opponent,” he said. “I think Polson was pretty motivated to play and they played well. Our boys had to stand up to meet that level and it took us a while to do it, but when we finally settled in it was good.”

As to the Bulldogs’ scoring drought, Lacey said it came down to a few strokes of bad luck.

“We created chances, we just had balls bounce the wrong way. We hit the post and you can’t scheme around that. Sometimes that’s just the way soccer goes,” he said.

Lacey said he was impressed with the way his defense played as well.

“They’re getting stronger and stronger and that will really help us. We’re going to need that core of our defense to really stand tall in these next few games.”

The Bulldogs (3-5-0) travel to Columbia Falls (7-1-1) this week to avenge the 3-0 shutout dealt by the Wildcats earlier this month.

“It’s going to be an exciting environment. The match against Columbia Falls is always a big one, and they’re at the top of the conference. That first game they had their foot on the pedal more than us, so I think we can be more aggressive this time,” Lacey said.

The game is in Columbia Falls at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Polson 1 0 — 1

Whitefish 0 0 — 0

POL — Connor Lanier (Andrew Hanson), 35:00

Shots on goal — Polson 11, Whitefish 5. Saves — Polson 4 (Russell Smith), Whitefish 9 (Marty Anderson). Corner kicks — Polson 5, Whitefish 2. Fouls — Polson 13, Whitefish 7. Cards — Yellow: Polson 1.