Hawks battle pirates at home

POLSON 9, THOMPSON FALLS 4

The Thompson Falls/Plains Blue Hawk soccer team hosted the Polson Lady Pirates, falling 9-4.

The Pirates were quick to score at the top of the first half, and while the Blue Hawks tried, they were unable to answer with their own goal. Polson would score two more goals within the first eight minutes of the game.

“We gave up an early penalty and then committed a couple of quick defensive errors leading to early scores,” said head coach Nick Lawyer.

But the ladies never faltered and kept their offense strong, letting Katherine Wrobleski find the goal for Thompson’s first point. While the Lady Pirates would try to keep the soaring Hawks from the goal, they were unable. Hawk Savannah Costner would be the one to find the goal, putting the score 3-2 with 10 minutes left in the first half. While the Hawks tried to keep their defense strong, they weren’t able to stop three more goals from the Pirates before the half.

Coming back from the half, Thompson came in with a new approach and was able to gain the first goal of the second half. Polson would be unable to answer back before the Hawks once again found the goal bringing the score to 6-4. With only 20 minutes left Polson was able to sneak in a few more goals putting them farther ahead. Thompson was unable to answer back and the Pirates would take the 9-4 win.

“This was a huge improvement since our game against LonePeak last Saturday. We had better intensity and were much more front footed. Unfortunately our intensity dropped off in the final 10 minutes of both the first and second half. This led to our attention dropping and cost us six goals. I think when we fix this, our competitiveness should improve immensely,” Lawyer stated.

Catherine Wrobleski had two goals and two assists, Ava Lawyer one goal, and Savannah Costner one goal, and one assist. Solveig Nygaard had one assist.

POLSON 3, THOMPSON FALLS 0

It was now time for the boys to take on the Polson Pirates, sinking 3-0.

Both teams started with intensity making each other fight to get down the field. The teams would go head to head for most of the first half with no goals. With only minutes left before the half Polson was able to score their first goal.

Coming back from the half, the Hawks leveled up their intense defense. Putting pressure on the Pirates, they would try for the first goal but were unable to get past the keeper. With 17 minutes left, Polson was able to get their second goal of the game.

The Hawks would try several more times for a goal but just couldn’t get past the Pirate keeper, and with less than 10 minutes left, Polson was able to get their final goal of the game while keeping the Hawks scoreless.

“If I had one word for this game it would be unlucky. We had some unlucky shots get past our keeper this game. But with that being said, we still played better than our first game and are continuing to grow,” said head coach Michael Scharfe.

PARK (LIVINGSTON) 4, THOMPSON FALLS 0

The Blue Hawks hit the road taking on the Park (Livingston) Lady Rangers, falling 0-4.

The Hawks tried to make the first goal but were unable to get past the Lady Rangers keeper. Livingston was quick to answer with their own goal, attacking from the left side. Thompson was able to step up their defense and would keep the Lady Rangers from scoring for most of the first half, but once again Livingston was able to sneak past the keeper and get another goal, bringing the score to 2-0 at the half.

Coming back from the half the Hawks upped their defenses, while trying to move their ball down field. They were unable to make several attacks before the Lady Rangers once again found the goal for their third point.

“Unfortunately our attack was pretty stale, we struggled to get the ball across the midfield line, and our combination built a place for improvement,” Lawyer said.

The Hawks would let one more goal get past them before the end of the game.

“The big change for us compared to the start of our season, I think, is we gave up zero cheap or mistake-filled goals. We still had our moments, but after the game against Lone Peak, our focus this last week was on our build up play in the defensive third and reducing errors in the middle of the field. I think we did that,” stated Lawyer.

PARK (LIVINGSTON) 8, THOMPSON FALLS 0

The Blue Hawk boys had their turn at the Park (Livingston) Rangers, falling 8-0.

Quickly the Rangers found themselves past the goal line for their first goal. While the Hawks tried to answer with a goal of their own, they were unable to make it past the keeper. Thompson would keep their defenses high, keeping the only goal for Livingston in the first half. The Hawks would try several times to get the ball to the goal but just couldn’t shut down the Ranger’s defenses.

Headed into the second half the Hawks were able to keep Livingston from scoring for more than half of the quarter. But soon the Rangers would be found in the goal line again. They would quickly score four more goals before Thompson was able to get the ball back. Trying to answer with a goal of their own, the Hawks just couldn’t make it past the keeper and soon the Rangers had another goal. Livingston would find the goal one more time before the end of the game.

“It was a long bus ride but I am still proud of how the guys played. We had new keepers and they did great for not playing that position a lot. I am proud of the teamwork my team is showing,” Scharfe stated.

The Hawks hit the road again taking on Libby on Thursday with results being posted in next week’s Ledger. They host Columbia Falls on Saturday.