Corner kicks haunt LHS in setback
Two corner kicks – that was enough to lift Polson to victory.
Libby dominated most of the game on Saturday afternoon in its regular-season finale against the Pirates. But Polson scored twice on corner kicks, played sound defense and got an exceptional performance out of goalkeeper Clay Frissell in a 2-1 win.
The Loggers had an 11-3 advantage in shots and twice as many corner kicks.
“We had plenty of opportunities and couldn’t find the back of the net,” Loggers coach Charlie Webster said. “Those 11 shots were all good shots. Only one of them went in but it could’ve been, 11-2. Their keeper did a real good job but we had excellent looks.”
Polson clinched the conference title with the victory and enters the Class A state playoffs as the No. 1 seed out of the North. Libby settles for runner-up and will play at 2 p.m. Saturday at unbeaten Hamilton.
Many feel Polson and Libby could meet again in the state championship game.
“I think a Northern A conference team will be in the state championship and if it’s not the Loggers, it will be Polson. And Whitefish is just as strong also,” Webster said. “Hopefully, we’ll play them. I’m disappointed for our boys and our fans that we’re not going to play at home.”
Libby would host a home game in the second round with a win over Hamilton. The opponent could be Whitefish if the Bulldogs make it past their playoff opener.
Against the Pirates, Libby got out to a 1-0 lead in the game’s fourth minute on a goal by Dan Webster with an assist to Crawford Dinning.
Polson couldn’t get much going offensively against the Loggers but took advantage of those two corner kicks. Riley Lemm took the kick on both occasions. On the first, Giorgio Traini scored through traffic from the back. On the second, Trevor Moll found the net on a header.
Libby had worked on defending corner kicks last week in practice.
“I wish I had worked on it more … we worked on making sure we marked players and got the ball cleared. It didn’t work out for us today,” Webster said.
The Loggers had several opportunities for the equalizer. Cross passes would be just barely off or shots on goal would sail high. Libby just couldn’t finish.
Webster said his team’s passing was off.
“It wasn’t that we were passing too much, it’s that our passes we were making, we were off on a lot of balls,” he said. “I think the pressure from Polson caused some of that. We need to work on that. We need to know that when we play Polson, they’re going to come hard after the ball and we’ve got to be prepared to make good passes with very little time.”
The game got a bit physical with four yellow cards. Polson’s Traini got a yellow with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Libby’s Edson Vences, Webster and James Hare all got penalized with yellows over a 20-minute stretch of the second half.
Libby heads into the playoffs with an overall record of 9-2-2. The Loggers finished 5-1-2 in the Northern A.
Polson ended up at 7-0-1 in the conference and enters state with an 8-3-1 overall record.
Polson 2, Libby 1
Saturday at Logger Stadium
Scoring by Periods:
Polson 2 0—2
Libby 1 0—1
First Half–1, Libby, Webster (Dinning), 4th minute. 2, Polson, Traini (Lemm), 12th minute. 3, Polson, Moll (Lemm), 20th minute.
Shots on goal–Polson 3, Libby 11. Saves–Polson 10 (Frissell), Libby 1 (Brooks). Corner kicks–Polson 3, Libby 6. Total fouls–Polson 17, Libby 21. Yellow Cards–Polson 1, Libby 3. Red cards–None.
Libby at Hamilton
Game Time: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Directions: While entering Hamilton from the north, take a left at the first street light. Follow Fairgrounds Road for about a half-mile and take a right on Kurtz Lane. The soccer field is located southeast of the high school.
Concessions: Provided by the Hamilton Booster Club.
Admission: $7 for adults, $6 for students. No passes honored.