Senior Jake Ray sent the ball to the other side of the soccer field with four seconds remaining – killing Lapeer East’s opportunity to tie the game on Monday.
Clarkston sealed their fate at the beginning of the second half scoring the only goal during their first home soccer game.
Lapeer East kicked the ball off the field giving the Wolves a corner kick opportunity.
Junior Jarrett Kersten kicked the ball to his teammates by the goal and sophomore Garret Gotaas headed it into the top of the net.
‘It was a fun game,? said Wolves Coach Adam Bican. ‘It was a good team we faced. Both teams played extremely hard. I was happy with the outcome.?
Clarkston held on to possession for the majority of the game and defense worked at keeping the ball out of their zone – not giving Lapeer chances to get close enough to score.
‘We didn’t let any goals in,? said Bican. ‘They had some opportunities. I put a lot of players in back that normally don’t play there – Justin Strohschein and Erik McEntee played extremely well tonight.?
Bican added Lapeer gave them a good game.
‘They are a very well-coached team and played with a lot of heart,? said Bican.
The boys had eight shots on goal and goalie Andrew Campbell saved two shots.
The game against Lapeer wasn’t the boys first competition for the season. They traveled up north and won two out of three games.
Senior John Dushaw scored the lone goal in the game against Traverse City Central.
‘They were very good,? Bican said.
The boys shutout Elk Rapids by scoring three goals from freshman Conor Bright, junior Alex Wilson, and Strohschein.
The only loss was to Traverse City West. Gotaas scored a goal in the 2-1 game.
‘I thought we did well,? said Bican. ‘It’s a long way to travel and three games are a lot for one day. I am pretty happy with how the boys played up there.?
Kersten made an impact during the three games, not only with four assists but for what isn’t noted in any stats.
‘His goal is to make everyone around him better. I think that’s what all the great players do,? said Bican.
The boys next three games are away, beginning with Detroit Catholic Central on Thursday.
‘They have one of the best players in the nation,? said Bican. ‘We are going to do everything we can to contain him and the rest of the team. We plan to be competitive with them. We are excited to go there and play they always have a good squad. We are playing on their field so we have to take a lot of passion and a lot of bug spray.?
The boys head to Waterford Kettering on Friday and Seaholm on Tuesday.
JV begins at 6 p.m. against DCC, at 5:30 p.m. against Kettering and 5 p.m. at Seaholm.
Varsity follows.