The Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer team faced some adversity but had an all-around solid team victory as they beat the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Wolves 3-0 in a Section 8A matchup played in Walker.
FIRST HALF –
The first half saw Crookston controlling play for most of the half, although shots were about even. Crookston seemed to wear down the Wolves late in the half as Maddie Harbott ran past a couple of WHA players to get a great kickoff from 15 yards out and scored for a 1-0 lead with six minutes to go in the half.
Crookston took a 1-0 lead into halftime and had Reese Swanson and Cassie Solheim team up in the net to make three saves.
SECOND HALF –
Crookston had a solid all-around 40 minutes in the second half, and after a few scoring chances came up empty, Harbott received a nice pass from Brooklyn Waldal. Harbott blasted a shot from the deep-left corner to score her second goal for a 2-0 Crookston lead 17 minutes into the half. “Maddie was having a dynamite day,” said Pirate Coach Sarah Reese. “She was making plays, had great runs and great shots.” Eight minutes later, Crookston added a big insurance goal as JoJo Wallace found the back of the net from 12 yards out in the middle of the field for a 3-0 Pirate lead.
The game didn’t end without some “excitement.” A Crookston player received a red card, and Maddie Harbott got kicked in the face, so the Pirates had to adjust on the fly while being a player short. Crookston’s center mids were out, so Reese Swanson and Katelyn Christensen filled in perfectly. “JoJo, Maddie, and the Cassie (Solheim)/Reese (Swanson) combo was strong in the middle,” said Coach Reese. “They were making plays amongst themselves and setting up runs and shots.”
Crookston continued their stellar defensive play and held on for a 3-0 victory. “Makayla Tahran and Maddie Knutson had a strong defensive presence today,” said Coach Reese. “Everyone that traveled today got to play, so that’s a great team effort.”
Crookston improves to 2-2-1 on the season and takes on East Grand Forks on Tuesday.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Crookston | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Walker-H-A | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring –
34:00 – Crox – Maddie Harbott
57:00 – Crox – Maddie Harbott (Brooklyn Waldal)
65:00 – Crox – JoJo Wallace
| SAVES | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Reese Swanson – Crox | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Cassie Solheim – Crox | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Natalie Dixon – WHA | 2 | 6 | 8 |
