After an appearance at the East Lansing tournament on Aug. 27 that had Clarkston varsity soccer coach likening his team to Jekyl and Hyde, the Wolves? palatable side was on display on Aug. 29 in a 2-0 win over Grand Blanc.
The win, which evened Clarkston’s record at 2-2-0, held special significance to some on the team.
‘This is a pretty big win considering we were the first varsity team to play on the (new synthetic) field. It sets a good example for all of the other teams,? said senior captain and defender Brett Shader.
Clarkston pressed the action early in the game and their hustle was rewarded with a goal scored at 2:47 of the first half. Leading to the goal, senior captain and forward Joel Parrish deftly saved the ball from going out of bounds in front of the Clarkston bench and whisked a quick pass down field to sophomore forward Oliver Kupe. Kupe dribbled into the Grand Blanc box, drawing increased scrutiny from the defense before gently crossing the ball to senior midfielder and captain Maxx Whaley, whose unerringly straight shot found the back of the net.
?(The first goal) gave us a lot of momentum and took control of the game from them,? said Whaley.
Grand Blanc had chances to tie the game in the first half, but the Wolves emerged unscathed in the first half. In one instance, a defensive lapse led to a uninhibited shot on net, but senior goaltender Barak Thomas swallowed up the seemingly dangerous ball.
With 25:46 left in the half, Grand Blanc had a goal called back due to offsides.
?(Clarkston) has two dangerous finishers in (Parrish) and (Kupe). We came out flat,? said Grand Blanc Coach Greg Kehler.
Playing with a one goal lead, the Wolves were not taking any chances offensively, but opportunity knocked in the second half in the form of a free kick from midfield. Whaley propelled the ball into the box, where Parrish’s voluminous afro cushioned and redirected it to freshman Colin Rumschlag. The young midfielder made a deft move past the last defender and blasted a rising shot into the net with 28:36 left in the game.
As the Wolves good naturedly razzed their young teammate on his goal, Clarkston blanketed their defensive zone to preempt a Grand Blanc comeback rally. While the Bobcats managed four shots on goal during the second half, Thomas was resolute in net.
‘I’m super happy ? the kids are taking it upon themselves to win games,? said Clarkston Coach Mark Whitcomb.
Though Whitcomb was happy about his team’s performance, he was still bemused by the Wolves lackluster showing at the East Lansing tournament. Clarkston won their first match against Mount Pleasant 7-2, but then suffered twin 3-0 losses to East Lansing and Ann Arbor Pioneer.
‘The other teams had to play three games too. I still don’t think we are fit enough,? said Whitcomb.
Clarkston did not have much time to catch their breath as a league matchup with Rochester was scheduled for Aug. 30. The game finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News.
The soccer team’s next action is against Rochester Adams at home on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.