Plenty of opportunities presented themselves as the Clarkston Lady Wolves took on the Lakeland High School Eagles in their first district match up.
Shot after shot by the Clarkston offense either hit the crossbar, landed in the side netting, or was swept up by the Lakeland goalkeeper. After dominating the possession for an entire half, their hard work paid off with 13 seconds left as senior Meagan McCallum scored the first goal of the game.
The Wolves went into the second half up one goal and with adrenaline on their side. Both teams continued to fight hard as they knew a win was necessary to advance to the next game.
With 20 minutes left of play, Senior Allie Browe found herself with the ball just outside of the 18-yard box. She had the opportunity to take a longer-range shot, but instead unselfishly slid the ball forward through the Lakeland defense, to the cleats of teammate Meagan McCallum. McCallum then finished the ball into the net and tallied her second goal of the game.
The Eagles kept in the game by taking advantage of a penalty in close proximity to the Clarkston net. However, Junior Katie Vondette put the game away for a 3-1 Clarkston win, after scoring with just minutes left in the game.
The energy from Tuesday night’s win carried over to the Thursday match up between Clarkston and Grand Blanc High School. Nonetheless, the Bobcats were able to score within the first minutes by connecting off a corner kick.
The early Grand Blanc goal caught the Wolves off guard, however they were still able to respond. Freshman Mikayla Ferar set up an offensive opportunity as she crossed the ball in front of the Bobcat net, within striking distance of her teammates. Senior Allie Browe finished the ball in order to tie up the score, 1-1.
Despite the heartfelt effort made by Clarkston, the Bobcats were still able to score two more goals within the half.
The possession throughout the second half was more equal, as the Lady Wolves refused to go down easy. Several opportunities presented themselves, however it was Grand Blanc who finally capitalized off a breakaway to put the Bobcats up 4-1 with just 12 minutes remaining in the game. Although the loss was devastating and put an abrupt end to the season, the Lady Wolves played well.
‘It was a good battle and we fought hard,? said senior Allie Browe. ‘In my book it was a characterization of our passion for the sport.?
The girls may not have made it as far into the State Playoffs as they had dreamed, yet they all believe that they had a successful season. Senior Alex Rodebach said ‘next year’s team may have a better chance, especially with all the fresh talent.?
Until next season, as Clarkston announcer Neil Grandlund would say ‘Bye Bye, Buy Bonds.?