Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer Improves to 2-0 with win over Hillcrest

The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team scored three goals against the wind in the first half and pulled away for a 5-1 victory over the Fergus Falls Hillcrest Comets in a Section 8A matchup at the Crookston High School soccer field.

FIRST HALF –
The wind was gusting up to 35 miles per hour. The wind was at the back of Fergus Falls Hillcrest and that was evident in shots on goal. Hillcrest peppered Pirate goalie Reggie Winjum with 17 shots on goal, but Winjum was able to stop all but one of the shots.
Crookston started the game with possession of the ball, and Jay Reese found Matthew Contreras for a goal just shy of four minutes into the game, giving Crookston a 1-0 lead. “Matt has been playing really well this season,” said Pirate Coach Lon Boike. “He was able to get the kickoff on a great play.”
Fergus Falls Hillcrest answered a little over four minutes later while taking advantage of the wind as Zane Holmquist found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. “That was disappointing,” said Coach Boike. “We didn’t get the mark-up very well and left the open.”
Less than four minutes later, Crookston’s Brandon Colborn found Contreras, and he kicked the ball past the goalie for his second goal of the game for a 2-1 lead 12:18 into the game. “It was great how we responded to regain the lead,” said Coach Boike. “It was great teamwork, and Matthew had another great kick.”
Hillcrest took advantage of the wind for the next 15 minutes, getting several shots on goal, but most of them weren’t high-scoring shots. The Comets also had at least a handful of shots sail over the net.
Crookston finally settled back in and pushed the ball up the field. Contreras got a shot on goal, and the goalie made the initial save, but the ball popped loose in front of the net. Michael Bochow got the ball and kicked it on net, but the goalie deflected the ball to the side, and Colburn came in and kicked the ball into the net to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead with 9:55 left in the half. “We tell the guys that when a shot goes on goal to crash the net because you never know where the ball is going to go,” said Coach Boike. “They did a great job of crashing the goal, and Brandon finished it off.”
The teams played even the rest of the half, and Crookston took a 3-1 lead into halftime. “We were happy with the first half going into the wind,” said Boike. “Kids were playing well, and we were able to keep a little pressure on them except for a five-minute span.”

SECOND HALF –
Crookston had the wind at their back in the second half and took advantage as they were putting pressure on Hillcrest’s defense. Crookston had the ball across midfield, and Makoti Weber kicked the ball up the field. Jay Reese caught up to the ball and blasted a kick past the goalie and into the net for a 4-1 lead less than eight minutes into the half. Crookston goalie Reggie Winjum had a big save a couple of minutes later to keep the Pirate lead at 4-1. “Getting that fourth goal was huge,” said Coach Boike. “It was a nice play by Makoti, and Jay did a great job of finishing it off.”
The teams were playing even the next 10 to 15 minutes, and with about 15 minutes left in the game, Crookston had a shot on goal, but the Hillcrest goalie made a diving stop. Crookston continued the pressure, and Reese got a long pass and was working in front of the net looking to score before he saw Colborn cutting towards the net and kicked a behind-the-back pass to Colborn, who kicked the ball to the left corner of the net for a 5-1 lead.
Crookston had a couple of long shots on goal in the last 10 minutes, and Hillcrest had a couple of shots on goal in the same time frame, but both goalies made the stops, and Crookston held on for a 5-1 lead.

Crookston improves to 2-0 on the year and 2-0 in Section 8A play. They will host Fergus Falls High School on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Crookston. Hillcrest drops to 2-2 on the year.

	1st	2nd	Final
Hillcrest	1	0	1
Crookston	3	2	5

Scoring –
3:57 – Crookston – Matthew Contreras (Jay Reese)
8:25 – FFHC – Zane Holmquist (Charlie Eggiman)
12:18 – Crookston – Matthew Contreras (Brandon Colborn)
30:05 – Crookston – Brandon Colborn (Michael Bochow)
47:23 – Crookston – Jay Reese (Makoti Weber)
67:42 – Crookston – Brandon Colborn (Jay Reese)