Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer holds on to beat East Grand Forks

The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team took a 2-0 lead in the second half and held on for a 2-1 victory over the East Grand Forks Green Wave in a Section 8A matchup at East Grand Forks.

FIRST HALF –
The first half was a defensive battle between the teams with only one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. “The start of the game was a little bit of each team feeling each other out,” said Pirate Coach Lon Boike.
Just over 15 minutes into the game, Crookston had a great scoring chance when Matt Contreras got the ball in front of the net and made a nice move past a Green Wave defender and had a big kick, but the Green Wave goalie, Parker Nolte (also a lineman on the football team) made a great save, and the game was still scoreless. Less than two minutes later, Crookston’s Jack Everett had a great cross-field pass to Contreras, and he kicked the ball as the Green Wave goalie tried to make the save and it went into the left side of the net to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. “That was an exciting play,” said Coach Boike. “It was a nice pass from Jack and Matt was able to put it away and Matt has been playing really well for us.”
With 12:16 remaining in the half, East Grand Forks got their first shot and only shot of the half on goal, but Crookston goalie Reggie Winjum made a leaping save. With 50 seconds left in the half, Crookston’s Everett had a kick from 25 yards out that just went off to the left of the net, and the Pirates took a 1-0 lead into halftime. “We played a good first half,” said Coach Boike. “I thought we played well, although it would have been nice to get one more goal.”

SECOND HALF –
The second half was a back-and-forth battle again, with neither team getting any shots on goal. About 10 minutes into the half, both teams started to open it up a bit, and Crookston’s Brandon Colborn was taken down in the box and had a penalty shot over 14 minutes into the half. Colborn kicked the ball, and it went off the top crossbar. Crookston’s lead was still 1-0. “He just missed it,” said Coach Boike. “We had a couple of opportunities to score after it came off the bar too, but didn’t.”
18 seconds later, East Grand Forks had a nice kick, but it went wide left. Crookston continued to try to solve the Green Wave defense and was able to do so with 15:12 remaining as Colborn got the ball in front of the net and kicked the ball in for a 2-0 lead. “We had some shots on goal, and then Gunner Groven deflected it out to Brandon,” said Coach Boike. “Brandon had a little chip shot to score.”
The goal proved to be an important one for the Pirates because East Grand Forks had a free kick with 12:12 remaining after the Pirates took down a Green Wave player. Cooper Hills kicked a beautiful ball from 30 yards out and it sailed under the cross bar for a goal to bring EGF within a 2-1 deficit. “The guy put it right where it needed to be,” said Coach Boike. “It was a great kick and nothing we really could do.”
Crookston’s Jack Everett kicked the ball for the Pirates after the EGF goal from midfield and put it on the net and the Green Wave goalie made the save. Both teams had a couple of scoring chances in the final 10 minutes, but neither team found the net and Crookston held on for a 2-1 victory. “Our defense has been solid all season,” said Coach Boike. “I am happy the boys keep playing well and keep playing with confidence. This is a nice win and I thought East Grand Forks played well. It was a typical game between us. They always seem to be one goal games.”

Crookston improves to 6-2 on the year and will travel to Fergus Falls Hillcrest on Saturday. EGF drops to 0-6 on the year.