Goalie Trevor Smith put on his gloves and headed to the net with 3:42 remaining in the Wolves game against Rochester last Thursday.
The referees had just served teammate Nathan Gill a yellow card taking him out of the net for rest of the game.
Smith positioned himself in front of a Falcons player for a one-on-one penalty kick. For Rochester it would break the 1-1 tie, for the Wolves it would mean a second loss of the week.
The ball went towards Smith and he reached out and knocked it to the right of the net. Wolves cheered and gathered around Smith.
The boys continued redirecting Rochester’s shots and finished the game with a tie.
“It was fantastic,” Coach Chuck Lawhorn said about the save. “He was put into a really touch spot and that’s what you do when you come into a tough spot – you step up and get the job done.”
Rochester took control on the scoreboard nine minutes into the second half with a kick from Matt Brady.
The pace quickened for both sides. Rochester headed into Clarkston territory again. Wolf Spenser Pawlik deflected a few of Rochester’s tries away from the net and Gill stopped a few from getting in.
The Wolves grabbed possession and headed towards Rochester’s net making a few attempts on the goal.
“We got scored on and it really woke everybody up,” said Lawhorn.
Connor Hall took an opportunity as defense players moved around, creating an opening on the field. He kicked the ball at 14:07 and put it into the bottom corner of the net.
“It was a good boost for us,” he said after the game.
The battle continued until the game ended. Clarkston outshot the Falcons, 7-6.
“We came out a little flat,” said Lawhorn. “We played really hard the last 25 minutes. I think that is the way we need to come out every game for 80 minutes.”
The boys lost to Lake Orion in their home opener on Aug. 24, 5-0.
“We had a lax for about five minutes and we lost the midfield,” said Lawhorn. “We kept turning the ball over in the midfield and we weren’t recovering fast enough so they were counter attacking quickly. We couldn’t keep up with it.”
The result was Orion scoring four goals halfway through the first half.
The boys played Detroit Catholic Central on Tuesday. They host University of Detroit – Jesuit on Thursday and Rochester Adams on Sept. 7, 7 p.m.
“We need to fired up before a game because when we aren’t getting fired up we will either lose or tie,” said Hall.
“They can’t have any let downs against anybody,” added Lawhorn. “No mental lapses against anyone in this division because they will come out and score goals on you right away.”