The Wolverines are constantly on the rise.
And the lead bull for the Wolverines is Cole Weicker. Polk road that bull to victory on Wednesday night as the junior midfielder scored a hat trick in Polks 3-0 victory over conference foe Owen. The Wolverines came out sharp, forcing the ball to stay around the Warhorses net.
But it wasnt until Weicker broke lose and with some fancy footwork shot the ball from the right side of the net into the back left corner. The Wolverines outshot the Warhorses 12-4 in the first half. But the Warhorses didnt fold immediately.
Owen came down and took and applied some pressure to the Wolverine defense, but stiff defense fended off the Warhorses. At one point, Trevor Ennis played lights out defense fending off two shots in the same play by a Warhorse forward.
So with a 1-0 lead, the Wolverines headed to their bench at half.
But the Wolverine pressure came immediately in the second half as Weicker took three different shots that could have easily been goals.
The Warhorse defense tightened its belt in the second half, but they couldnt contain the Wolverines. Finally with 8:19 left to go in the second, Jake Johnson took control of the ball outside the box on the far left side. He sent a solid pass to Russell McIntyre just outside the top of the goalie box and McIntyre sent a perfectly-arching pass towards the right corner of the goal where Weickers foot awaited it and sent it in.
It couldnt have been a better pass, Weicker said. It was perfect.
Weickers last goal came with 4:20 left in the second half. A Warhorse defender kicked the ball, it deflected off Weickers leg and after a long stint in the air, the ball dropped down and bounced past the goalie.
And while a little luck factored into this third goal, its the confidence that matters before a game, Weicker said.
I always feel like I can dominate, he said. I came in with confidence.
The Wolverines are growing in confidence and are in the hunt for another conference championship.
We are doing a pretty decent job of creating chances, coach Lennox Charles said. When we do a good job of finishing, it makes a huge difference.
Polk will host Hendersonville Monday at 5:30 p.m.