September 5, 2003 at 10:59 a.m.
Despite scoring slump, ‘Cats pick up two more wins
Despite scoring slump, ‘Cats pick up two more wins
Chisago Lakes 2
Concordia Acad. 1
The good news is that they won. The bad, it shouldn't have been that close.
After falling behind 1-0 to Concordia Academy last Wednesday at home, the Wildcats mounted a comeback, scoring two goals down the stretch to win the game. Despite having numerous chances to score, a win is a win and they’ll take it.
“This was a game that we should’ve scored many more goals,” said Chisago Lakes head boys soccer coach Mark Leigh. “We had five or six wide open breaks but we didn’t place the ball well. It was either right to the keeper or wide.”
Things got tense late in the first half after Concordia took the early lead with a goal on a penalty kick. Chisago Lakes failed to score on a penalty kick earlier in the half, leaving the Wildcat deficit at 1-0 heading into the second. Desperate to generate some offense, Leigh took the halftime to readjust by adding another forward up front. The move helped the ‘Cats turn the table.
Senior Tom Eret found Chris Golv nine minutes into the second half to tie the score. Eret then did it himself down the stretch, scoring the go ahead goal at the 60 minute mark. Between the pipes, Jake Peterson preserved the one goal lead by stuffing Concordia the rest of the way, giving Chisago their second win of the season.
Chisago Lakes 4
St. Croix Lutheran 0
Less than 24 hours after beating Concordia, the Wildcats picked up where they left off against St. Croix Lutheran.
Sophomore Blane Maher hooked up with Nick Klimek on a corner kick 12 minutes into the first half, giving the ‘Cats an early lead. The goal for Klimek was his second of the season.
Exactly 20 minutes later, Chris Golv pushed the Wildcat lead to two. The goal for Golv was his second in as many games.
Leading 2-0, Maher and Brad Stockel took over. Maher scored twice in the second half, both on great individual efforts, while Stockel stopped everything that came at him. When the smoke cleared, Stockel had his second shutout of the season and the Wildcats had their third win. Still, after the game, Chisago knew they had to get better.
“We outclassed this team and had a lot of pressure,” remarked Leigh. “Like the Concordia game, though, we should’ve had many more goals. We talked about how we must score more when we are playing weaker teams because it will help us score when we play against better teams.”
New Life Academy 1
Chisago Lakes 0
Still looking for more offense, the Wildcats game-plan took a hit last Saturday in a 1-0 loss to New Life Academy.
It took one shot for New Life Academy to make their presence known, scoring on their only shot of the first half. Meanwhile, despite several scoring chances, the ‘Cats couldn’t tally the equalizer.
“This was a very frustrating game where we completely dominated play but gave up a goal on New Life’s only shot in the first half,” remarked Leigh. “We missed many scoring chances and several rebounds where no one was in position to put the ball away.”
The loss was the first setback of the season for the ‘Cats who fell to 3-1 on the year.
“This (the loss to New Life Academy) is the result of not converting good scoring chances in earlier games,” added Leigh. “We’re not precise when we need to be.”
They’ll need to be this week. Up next for the Wildcats, arguably one of the most important games of the season with section rival Mahtomedi on the road. The week finishes up with two home matches versus Amery and River Falls.
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