With new coaches and a new conference, the Polson Pirates Lady Soccer team got a fresh start to their 2024 season. Returning senior Madyson Luikart said, “I was a little scared at first, but once we started practicing, the coaches figured out what we needed to do and what would work for different positions of players, and it worked out.” 

Coach Heather Howell and her assistant coaches jumped straight into the season, starting in the summer. Coach Howell stressed how important the physical aspect of soccer is by placing different athletic tests to take as soon as the season began. This got the players ready to jump into practice. Olivia Ramirez, a brand new player and goalkeeper, said, “Most of the girls are pretty experienced, and we’re doing really well, actually, with a bunch of younger girls, and especially some girls that haven’t played yet before, like me.” Conference games left the Lady Pirates in good standing for playoffs with a record of seven wins, two losses, and one tie.

Luikart was the second-highest scorer in the state with 22 goals and 15 assists. She said, “I remember my freshman year. Sophia set a goal that was really high, and I respected her a lot, but I also wanted to assist people a lot, get people goals.” Since Luikart’s freshman year, she has contributed 30 goals and over 15 assists to the Polson Pirates. She hopes to encourage future players to surpass her achievement.

The girls’ soccer team headed to playoffs for the first time in seven years. With a younger team, Luikart stated, “Our team hasn’t gone to playoffs in seven years, so my senior year, making it was fun.” They played Billings Central, the number 1 ranked team in the Eastern Conference. The girls prepared for playoffs by doing team-building activities all throughout the season. This included pumpkin patch trips, a pumpkin carving night, and even a collegiate soccer team trip to cheer on the University of Montana Lady Griz.

 The girls’ team accomplished many things throughout the season and made improvements compared to previous years. Ultimately, the Lady Pirates wished they had progressed further into playoffs but were overall proud of how far they had come throughout the season. They look forward to continuing to grow the program, learning from new coaches and players, and creating a stronger and united team. 

With a new division and players filling in vacancies left by seniors, the boys’ Pirate soccer team came in with high hopes. The boys’ team dynamics have shifted this year with new players and skills being added to the team. 

This season they had five successes and the season was described as “splendid” by Edgar Vejez Pete, a returning sophomore. 

Left winger Afton Hatch said, “A lot of our younger players have stepped up and filled the space left from our seniors from last year.” They learned how to work together with multiple team-building activities, which included team dinners and a pre-season game against the girls’ soccer team. Vejez Pete said, “This year I started, so I got to be on top of my game.” Underclassmen who started varsity this year shared this feeling. 

Due to playing in the South-West Conference, the Pirates were up against teams they had never played before like Stevensville, Hamilton, Corvallis, and Frenchtown.

Starting the season off, they played Thompson Falls. This game boosted the boys’ confidence as they headed to play Hamilton, the second-highest ranked team in the South West bracket. The Pirates kept the game close and lost with a final score of 1-2. The season continued to go back and forth with victories and losses. The team finalized their spot in playoffs with a victory of 5-1 against Frenchtown on senior night, October 10. 

The Pirates came to the playoffs with lots of energy and held the Columbia Falls Wildcats, the number one ranked team in the North West Division, for almost the entire game zero score. The boys used the best of their abilities to keep Columbia Falls at bay during the playoffs. Hatch says, “We were all hyped for the game, and we knew we had a chance of winning… I don’t think the score reflects how the game went. We held Columbia Falls for seventy minutes, but the last ten minutes didn’t go as planned, but we still put up a fight.” The season ended with a loss of 0-3

The boys fought hard to keep the season steady and improved continuously throughout the fall. They look forward to growing the program in the future. Despite the abrupt end of the season, Hatch said, “Our team is just as close and we have lots of good memories.”