The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team defeated the East Grand Forks Green Wave 4-0 on Senior Night at KROX Radio Stadium in Crookston Tuesday..
FIRST HALF –
All eight of the Pirate seniors got the start, and they were tested early. East Grand Forks was able to break through the Crookston midfield, but the defense quickly found a way to flip the field. Crookston’s offense brought the tempo early, knowing the Green Wave would utilize a more defensive-based game plan. In the 10th minute, Crookston would strike first as Jack Everett would sidestep a defender and hook a shot from the back line around the goalpost and into the net. Everett was assisted by Jay Reese, who fed him from the sideline. “(Jack) has had some shots this year, but not many have gone his way this year,” said Pirates head coach Lon Boike. The Pirate offense controlled the tempo and kept the Green Wave out of their offensive third for the majority of the half. Crookston’s offense was able to break through the Green Wave defense again just 10 minutes later, as Reese punched in the second Pirate goal of the evening, making the score 2-0. He was unassisted as he lured EGF keeper Liam Brendon out of the net and shot around him for the goal. EGF had a couple of offensive chances late in the half, but short corner kicks found Crookston’s defense, which was quick to clear the ball away from the net.
SECOND HALF –
The Green Wave started the half with the ball and immediately took advantage. Elijah Benjaman had a shot in the first minute of the half, but missed the mark high. Moments later, in the 41st minute, the Pirates put another ball into the net. Matthew Conterras emerged from a pile of bodies with the ball, and had a walk in goal on an empty net. Brandon Colborn was credited with the assist, as he and other Pirates kept the Green Wave goalkeeper from getting back into the net. “When you get shots on goal, we can’t stand there and watch,” Boike said, “we need to crash the net, and we did a pretty good job at that tonight.” The Pirate offense still had more in the tank, firing off a several more shots over the course of the next twenty minutes of play, and Boike says the defense had a big hand in that. “Up around the midfield area, I thought we controlled the ball quite a bit and we were able to dump the ball to our end,” he said, “and we were able to move the ball around and find guys who were open and try to get shots on goal.” Jack Everett was able to find the net for a second time in the 60th minute. He got in the way of a punt from the EGF keeper and found the upper corner from 20 yards away to extend the Pirate lead to 4. The remainder of the game saw Crookston sub in many of the reserves. The Green Wave offense had a few chances late in the game, including a free kick from Cooper Hills in the 75th minute. The wind carried the ball off it’s line, and hooked it away from the goal before it hit the ground. Crookston’s defense made the final couple of stops, and played some keep-away to run out the clock.
Crookston is now 9-4 and EGF is now 0-10-1 on the year. The Pirates host Bemidji on Wednesday at 4:00 at KROX Radio Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on KROX TV.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| East Grand Forks | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Crookston | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Scoring –
10:27 – CHS – Jack Everett (Jay Reese)
29:00 – CHS – Jay Reese (unassisted)
42:27 – CHS – Matthew Conteras (Brandon Colborn)
60:30 – CHS – Jack Everett (unassisted)
| SAVES | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Reggie Winjum – Crookston | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Liam Brendon – EGF | 4 | 7 | 11 |
