Pirate Boys Soccer falls to Bemidji in regular season finale

The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team lost to the Bemidji Lumberjacks 3-0 at KROX Radio Stadium in Crookston Wednesday in the regular season finale for the Pirates.

FIRST HALF –
The Lumberjacks started with the ball and started to set their attack. The tempo began slowly as the ball floated between the defenders for a minute before space opened on the sideline. Isaac Stone was quickly fed the ball, which gave Bemidji their first chance in scoring position. The Pirate defense held up, and Crookston was able to advance the ball over midfield. A penalty on the Lumberjacks gave Crookston a free kick from about 30 yards out, but the attempt from Jack Everett sailed just above the net. Moments later, Bemidji would make it back to their side of the field. A throw-in from Reed Johnson in the third minute set the Lumberjacks in scoring position. Austin Riewer came out of a crowd of defenders with the ball and fed a wide open Isaac Stone for the first goal of the afternoon. “We left a guy wide open, and Reggie’s not going to stop that since that’s just tough to stop,” said Pirates head coach Lon Boike, Minutes later, the Lumberjacks were able to sustain possession in their offensive third. Riewer would make a goal of his own on a cross-net kick following the pass from Jeron Heuseby near the sideline in the 12th minute. Bemidji snuck a third goal through the net in the 23rd minute, when a corner kick to Reed Johnson was sent across the net to Stone, who knocked it through off a header. “They were crashing guys coming in from that side and we didn’t do a good job boxing out,” said Boike. The Crookston defense was able to tighten up for the rest of the half, and the offense was able to make it to the other side of the field a few times. The Pirates were only able to fire four shots, most of which were long and off-target.

SECOND HALF –
Crookston kicked off the second half, but Bemidji was able to possess the ball for the majority of the final frame. The strategy for the Lumberjacks was primarily to play keep-away, but take the open shots if they came. The smooth Lumebrjack passing caught several Crookston midfielders out of position, resulting in shots. Reggie Winjum saw over 25 shots in the game, and made 10 saves in the second half. Crookston’s defense was disciplined and contested many more shot attempts from Bemidji, causing many to sail out of bounds or go back the other way. “Our strategy was to keep it as low scoring as we can,” commented Boike, “but we worked very hard and kids held their formation very well.” Offensively, the Pirates had little rhythm, as they were only able to cross midfield a couple of times. Jay Reese had a breakaway late, but the closing speed of Lumberjack defender Levi Renn quickly stopped the possession.

Crookston finishes the regular season with a 9-6 record and will have play in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs on Thursday, October 10. The seeds will be announced on Sunday.