The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team had to cling on to the lead for dear life but were able to hold on to a 2-1 against the Dutchmen of Melrose in a game at Crookston High School.
FIRST HALF –
Crookston started the game strong, getting the first shot on goal in the opening minute. In the 4th minute, the Pirates got their first corner kick, and a header by Nolan Cassavant deflected off the goal post and out of bounds. Melrose attempted to respond, but early on the Crookston defense was suffocating.
The wind was a massive factor in this contest. For the first half, Crookston had the wind at their backs, and the ball carried way further than was intended. However, this fooled the Melrose defense too, and in the 24th minute, Matt Contreras got behind the defense and shot one off the post and in, making it 1-0. After the goal, the Pirates increased their aggresiveness, and that paid off as Matt Contreras delivered another goal to the top left corner in the 36th minute, making it 2-0 at halftime.
SECOND HALF –
In the second half, the teams switched sides, meaning they had to adapt to the change in wind direction; in the case of Crookston, they were now playing with the wind in their face. Melrose played their sloppiest soccer of the game in the first 10 minutes of the half, but in the 51st minute they started to increase their aggresiveness and obtained their first two corner kicks of the half. The second half was played with Melrose possessing the ball for the majority, but Crookston did have a couple scoring chances scattered throughout. The Pirate defense was especially stingy in the 60th minute, where they blocked a free kick and defended a header off a corner kick to preserve the clean sheet. That is, until an Alexis Ambriz goal in the 61st minute made it 2-1. Crookston had a breakaway a few minutes later, but a tremendous Jonathan Lara save kept the score at 2-1. In the 74th minute, an incredibly acrobatic one-handed Reggie Winjum save kept the score at 2-1, and that’s how the game came to an end, with Crookston fighting and defeating the Dutchmen ambush by a score of 2-1.
When asked in the postgame about how the conditions impacted the game, Coach Boike expressed that the team was used to this. “We normally get a few goals into the wind…we didn’t get much of an opportunity today but I feel like we could’ve knocked in a couple more.” Coach Boike then lauded his defense, who have yet to allow more than one goal this year. “They’re usually pretty solid back there…I usually get nervous, a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey and soccer, but our guys held strong today.”
Crookston now goes back above .500 at 3-2, while Melrose falls to 2-4 on the season.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Crookston | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Melrose | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring –
23:39 – Crookston – Matt Contreras
35:29 – Crookston – Matt Contreras
60:52 – Melrose – Alexis Ambriz
| SAVES | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Reggie Winjum – Crookston | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Jonathan Lara- Melrose | 6 | 3 | 9 |
