The Crookston Pirate Girls soccer team scored the first two goals of the game, but squandered a 2-0 halftime lead in a 4-2 loss against St. John’s Prep in a non-Section game played in Collegeville.
The Pirates broke through early in the first half drawing first blood after Olivia Huck found Makenze Epema for the opening goal just eight minutes into the match. Cassie Solheim doubled the Crookston lead in the 26th minute after taking a pass from Aleah Bienek and depositing the ball into the net giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. “Both of our goals came from our defenders,” explained Crookston head coach Sarah Reese. “One was from Olivia (Huck), and one was from Dillynn (Wallace). They literally just put the ball up in the air, and both Kenze (Epema) and Cassie (Solheim) were able to run onto it and take shots. Kenze’s was a nice hard shot on the ground. Cassie, she took a couple of dribbles and really was in super good control with the ball at her feet and found the net.” Reese Swanson made all three saves asked of her in the first half to keep a clean sheet and protect Crookston’s 2-0 lead into halftime. “It was good to have Reese in the net,” noted Reese after Swanson was unable to play in the Pirates’ last game with an injury.
In the second half, St. John’s Prep found their offense and managed to take the lead. #29 scored on a free-kick for the Johnnies in the 53rd minute. #29 struck a penalty kick into the net after a Crookston handball just one minute later tying the match at 2-2. St. John’s Prep took the lead in the 72nd minute with their third goal of the half. The Johnnies put the game away for good in the 73rd minute with their fourth goal of the half to close out a 4-2 win. “Unfortunately, they got a freekick, and it just sailed right over Reese’s hands,” explained Reese. “We got a handball in the 18-yard box which resulted in a (penalty kick). It was a really nice PK on the right side of the goal. That sort of set the tone. Later in the game, they got a couple of other ones when we were playing flat-footed. So there was a little bit of everything going on. It was really unfortunate because it was a winnable game had we put all eighty minutes together. We certainly had opportunities to put the ball in the net.”
Crookston falls to 0-4 this season and will return to the pitch next Thursday when the Pirates host Detroit Lakes at 4:00 P.M. St. John’s Prep improves to 1-2.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| CROOKSTON | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| St. John’s Prep | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Scoring
8:00 – CROX – Makenze Epema (Olivia Huck)
25:00 – CROX – Cassie Solheim (Aleah Bienek)
52:00 – SJP – #29 (freekick)
53:00 – SJP – # 29 (PK)
71:00 – SJP – #21
72:00 – SJP – #10
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | Total |
| Reese Swanson – CROX | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| #1 – SJP | 4 | 5 | 9 |
