Cloquet Falls To Blake 2-1 In Semi-Finals

Wes Vork-NSO

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Nov 2

Wes Vork-NSO

Making their first trip to the class A girls soccer state tournament semi-finals since 2002, the lady Jacks played one of their best games of the year. However, it wasn’t quite enough as the Jacks fell 2-1 to Blake School Monday at the Metrodome.

Cloquet controlled play for most of the first half only to give up a goal to Morgan Oie of Blake with 5:50 remaining in the first half. Despite outshooting Blake 4-3 and matching their shots on goal at 1-1, the Jacks went into the half down 1-0.

After using the break to regroup, the Lumberjacks came out on a mission and put pressure on the Bears, keeping them on their heels. The pressure paid off when Emily Johnson pounced on a ball from Sadie Micke, scoring for Cloquet at the 57:36 mark of the game. The pressure continued throughout the second period and the Jacks outshot the Bears 11 to 2 and led the shots on goal 7-2 in the second half. However, the Jacks couldn’t get a ball past Blake netminder Maddy Crawford. Cloquet head coach Dustin Randall commented to NSO after the game, saying, “I am a bit disappointed we didn’t win because I thought we outplayed them, but the girls have a chance to end finish on a winning note tomorrow when we face Orono.”

With 15:13 left in the contest, Blake managed a breakaway off a throw-in at midfield, with Lydia Sutton scoring what proved to be the game winning goal.

On the day, Cloquet outshot Blake 15-5 and held the edge in shots on goal at 7-3. Kaitrin Rathe made 3 saves for the Jacks while Crawford made 6 for the Bears.

With the loss, this being only the Jacks second in the last 14 games, sends them to the third place game, which is to be played in the Dome at 10:00am Tuesday. The Lumberjacks will have a chance to end the year on a winning note when they face off against LaCrescent, a team that lost 2-1 in overtime to Orono earlier in the day.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com