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CL 2, St. Croix Lutheran 1

Hannah Cadry and Jess Gulbranson scored their first goals of the season to lead the Wildcats to their fourth win in a row, a 2-1 victory at St. Croix Lutheran Monday, September 18.

At the ten-minute mark, the Wildcats played a ball to Cadry in the right corner. She moved to the outside of the 18 yard box and ripped a shot past the goalie just inside the near post to put the Wildcats up 1-0.

The score stayed 1-0 until the 60-minute mark. Eighth-grader Cassie Trandahl took a through ball, moved into the box and shot. The St. Croix goalie knocked the ball down, but it bounced right to Gulbranson, who knocked the ball into the net to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. St. Croix scored just five minutes later to cut the Wildcat lead to one goal, but the Wildcat defense stonewalled them the rest of the way to emerge with a 2-1 victory.

“We scored early,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos, “and that set the tone for the rest of the game. We had a lot of opportunities, but couldn’t put another one away till late in the second half. It was nice to see Hannah and Jess score. They’ve been so close all season and finally got one to go in. That should get their confidence up and hopefully lead to more goals.

Simley 3, Chisago Lakes 0

It rained a lot Friday as the Wildcats hosted section opponent Simley, the number two team in the section, at the Chisago Lakes High School football field. The game was scoreless at half, but Simley scored three goals in the second half to send the Wildcats down to a 3-0 loss.

Simley’s first goal came from a shot 20 yards out. Wildcat goalkeeper Kristy Verhey was screened, and the shot found its way just inside the left post. The second goal came off a corner kick. Verhey tried to punch at the ball and just missed. It landed at the foot of a Simley forward, who knocked it into the net. Simley’s last goal came with just one minute to go in the game. They played a through ball that the Wildcats looked in position to knock away. But the ball hit a puddle outside the top of the penalty area and stopped dead. As the Wildcat defender tried to adjust, she slipped and fell. Their player picked up the ball and beat Verhey to the lower left, making the final score Simley 3, Chisago Lakes 0.

“This one was the Mud Bowl,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. “Players were just slipping and sliding everywhere. I thought we played a nice game. Our players did well at everything we’d been working on in practice. Sometimes the other team is just a little better and faster. Their midfielders were very talented.

“Against Simley, Hannah Cadry played best game I’ve every seen her play. She was coming back for ball, making great drop passes and making excellent runs. She’s really improved a lot this season.”

The Wildcats will play four conference games in a week. They were scheduled to host St. Louis Park Tuesday, September 26 at home. They head out on the road today, Thursday, September 28, for a game at Irondale at 7 p.m. They’ll be at Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Monday, October 1 at 5 p.m. and return home to face Columbia Heights Tuesday, October 3 at 5 p.m. at the Chisago Lakes High School football field.

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