Clarkston’s soccer team made a valiant effort, but could play spoiler as Rochester defeated the Wolves 3-2 on Oct. 19 to claim the OAA Division I title for the fourth year in a row.
‘It has been a battle all year long, this (league) is bar none the best. You take a team like Clarkston, who is finishing near the bottom and they are in every game that they play. (Whitcomb) does a fabulous job with the kids here, he has them believing and working hard. We knew coming in that it wasn’t going to be easy,? Rochester Coach Todd Heugh said.
Clarkston drew first blood against the Falcons when sophomore Oliver Kupe chipped a pass forward towards senior Joel Parrish, who out raced two defenders to the ball. In an amalgamation of power and accuracy Parrish then deposited the ball in the net with 20:30 remaining in the first half.
Just over two minutes later, junior Jake Prybycien snuck into the Rochester box and put his toe on a deflected shot, giving the Wolves a 2-0 lead with 18:04 remaining in the first half.
‘You have to be able to finish for 80 minutes. (Rochester) is a good team, but we were killing them. We were thoroughly dominating them,? said Clarkston Coach Mark Whitcomb.
Rochester’s Andy Chun scored a goal with 1:00 remaining in the first half. Assisting on the goal was Kevin Sanders.
Chun later tied the game with 14:08 left. Rochester’s Frederick Braun put the Falcons up for good with 11:40 left in the game. Braun’s goal was assisted by Michael Benham.
After losing to Rochester, Clarkston ends the season 1-2 after defeating Kimball 2-0 on Oct. 13 and losing a hotly contested 1-0 contest to Lake Orion on Oct. 18. Whitcomb hopes the lessons learned playing in the tough OAA Division I serve the Wolves well in the playoffs.
?(The OAA Division I) was the most even I have ever seen it. If we beat (Rochester) or hold them to a tie then they don’t win the league,? said Whitcomb.
Clarkston finished with a 5-19-1 (2-9-1) record and ended up in sixth place out of seven teams in the league. Rochester needed the win against the Wolves to stay ahead of Troy High for the league title.
Clarkston’s opening round of districts against Waterford Mott at Pierce Middle School on Oct. 25 finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News.
‘I wouldn’t want to play us in districts. I really wouldn’t because we are starting to gel,? said Whitcomb.
Their coach’s comments were echoed by Clarkston players.
‘I have high hopes for districts because the last three games we have really stepped it up,? said senior goalie Barak Thomas. ‘We are definitely playing better as a unit now. We are definitely doing a better job of communicating.?
A recap of Clarkston’s matchup with Mott will be posted on www.clarkstonnews.com on Oct. 26.