CROOKSTON BOY’S SOCCER SHUTOUT BY HILLCREST ACADEMY

The Crookston Pirate Boy’s Soccer team gave up a goal in the first three minutes and didn’t recover in a 4-0 loss to Fergus Falls Hillcrest Academy in a game played in Fergus Falls.  

FIRST HALF – 
Fergus Falls Hillcrest didn’t waste any time as they scored a goal three minutes into the game when Gabe Swedenburg one-touched a pass into the net for a 1-0 lead.  Crookston struggled to get the offense going as they had trouble controlling the ball against the highly skilled Hillcrest players.  But, the Pirate defense played solid and didn’t give up another goal the rest of the half. “I thought we played alright, but we couldn’t get the offense going,” said Pirate Coach Lon Boike. “We had a hard time dribbling and passing against them today.”

SECOND HALF – 
The first 20-minutes were even with Hillcrest controlling the play a bit, but the flood gates opened when Crookston was caught with some defensive players out of position, partially because they were being more aggressive on offense and Hillcrest took advantage with three goals in 11-minutes to take a 4-0 lead. “We were trying to be more aggressive offensively, but they were very skilled and it was a struggle for us,” said Coach Boike. “They took advantage of their opportunities and when they got the second goal it took the wind out of our sails a bit.”
Crookston wasn’t able to score in the final seven minutes and Hillcrest held on for the 4-0 victory.  “They had the ball in our zone about three-quarters of the game,” said Coach Boike. “They are a good team, but I am proud of how our guys played.  They played hard and really battled against a quality team.”

Crookston drops to 0-4 and will host Pelican Rapids on Tuesday.  Fergus Falls Hillcrest improves to 3-1 on the year and will play at East Grand Forks on Monday. 

Scoring –
3:00 – FFHC – Gabe Swedenburg (Jiun Moon)
62:00 – FFHC – Endre Okland (Simon Kleven)
69:00 – FFHC – Gabe Swedenburg (Steffen Synnevaag)
73:00 – FFHC – Endre Okland