The Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer team had four different players score including the goalie as they cruised to a 5-1 victory over East Grand Forks in a game played in Crookston.
FIRST HALF –
Play was even for the first 10 minutes before East Grand Forks put pressure on the Crookston defense. Several shots missed the net, and while there was pressure, Crookston goalie Blake Melsa kicked the ball down the field with the wind carrying the ball past midfield. The ball bounced about two-thirds of the way down the field, and the Green Wave goalie came out of his net to play the ball. The ball bounced past the goalie and rolled into the net for an extremely rare goal scored by a goalie, and over 14 minutes into the game, Crookston had a 1-0 lead.
Play remained even the rest of the half until the final five minutes of the half. Crookston took over the game and dominated the play in the final minutes. They had two solid scoring chances 30 seconds apart, and even though they didn’t score, they continued to get stronger. Crookston threw the ball in from the sidelines with 10 seconds left in the half, and the ball went to Brannon Tangquist. He cut up the field with the coaching staff yelling “SHOOT” as the clock was winding down. Tangquist let a kick go, and it sailed past the Green Wave goalie before hitting the right post, and it ricocheted into the goal for a 2-0 lead with one second left in the half.
SECOND HALF –
East Grand Forks had the wind in the second half, and that helped them early in the second half as they were putting pressure on the Crookston defense. About 15 minutes into the half, Crookston had a breakaway, which turned out to be a 2-on-1 and a kicked missed wide left. East Grand Forks answered with two high-quality scoring chances halfway through the half, but Blake Melsa was up to the challenge while making two big saves to keep the Crookston lead at 2-0.
Crookston took advantage of one of their scoring opportunities with 15 minutes left in the game as Jack Everett kicked a beautiful shot past the Green Wave goaltender for a 3-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for East Grand Forks to respond as Crookston couldn’t clear the ball from in front of the net, and the Green Wave scored 61 seconds later to get within a 3-1 deficit.
Crookston didn’t take giving up the first goal of the game lightly as they bounced back and were aggressive on the offensive end and scored over four minutes later on a goal from Jay Reese for a big insurance goal and a 4-1 lead with 9:01 left in the game. The Pirates weren’t done, as with just over three minutes left Jack Everett received a pass from Caden Boike and he put it in the back of the net for the goal. Crookston cruised the rest of the way to 5-1 victory.
Crookston improves to 4-4-2 on the year and head to Grand Forks on Monday to take on Grand Forks Central. East Grand Forks falls to 2-6.
To listen coach Lon Boike’s post game comments, click below:
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| East Grand Forks | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Crookston | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Scoring –
24:14 – Crox – Blake Melsa
39:59 – Crox – Brannon Tangquist
64:38 – Crox – Jack Everett (Jay Reese)
65:39 – EGF – Cooper Hills (Christian Holm)
70:59 – Crox – Jay Reese (Lucas Miller)
76:38 – Crox – Jack Everett (Caden Boike)
| SAVES | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Blake Melsa – Crox | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Parker Nolte – EGF | 11 | 11 | 22 |
