A bit of history was shared Monday night before the kickers took to the field.
Clarkston boys played their first soccer game ever on September 6, 1983.
They lost to Rochester Adams, 9-1. Ron Forbes scored the first goal for the Wolves.
‘It never happened again,? announced Neil Granlund over the speakers. He should know, he was the varsity coach.
Twenty-five years later, the boys faced Waterford Kettering in their season opener.
They won, 3-2.
‘It was a typical first game of the season,? said Wolves? head coach Adam Bican. ‘We had first game jitters and we worked them out. Overall, we got a win and that’s very good.?
Brandon Verlinden scored the first goal less than four minutes into the game.
The Wolves gained control of the ball and Jarrett Kersten passed the ball to Verlinden.
Clarkston kept the push on Kettering and scored their second goal ten minutes into the second half.
Kevin Pinkos ran into defenders and maneuvered the ball around them.
Kettering’s goalie came out of the goal to stop the ball. The opening gave Pinkos the opportunity he needed to score.
Pinkos struck again a few minutes later.
Verlinden passed the ball to Pinkos. Pinkos took a shot and scored Clarkston’s third goal.
Kettering finished off the game with their own two goals made by Devin McClure and Jacob Keesling.
The Wolves outshot the Captains 9-6.
‘We saw flaws in our game and we will take care of in practice and get better throughout the season,? said Bican.
The boys will host Holly on Wednesday and play in the Traverse City Invitational on Saturday, before facing rivals Lake Orion next Tuesday.
‘Holly will definitely give us a game,? said Bican. ‘We play Traverse City West and Traverse City Central, both quality teams. Lake Orion, the boys will have no problem getting up for that game. We do have a few things we need to work on. We can work through them and will be alright.?
The games against Holly and Lake Orion start at 5:30 for JV and varsity will follow.
JV also won their game. They shut out Kettering by scoring six goals, with a total of 16 shots on the net.