Eskomos continue to coast
The Esko-Carlton girls soccer team was in a dog fight with visiting Hibbing-Chisholm Tuesday evening.
Then the second-half whistle blew.
The Eskomos buried four second-half goals against the Bluejackets and turned their early one-goal lead into a 5-0 drubbing at Les Knuti Memorial Field in Esko.
The win was the third of the season for the experienced Eskomos (3-1), who are playing pretty well in their coach’s eyes.
“Today was probably the best we played collectively as a team,” said Esko-Carlton Coach Nicki Peterson. “We really moved and possessed the ball well today.”
Sophomore midfielder Kailee Katt found the back of the net for the Eskomos, while senior midfield Alyssa Rodlund pumped in a pair. Senior striker and go-to scorer Caitlin Lilly also added to her team-high goal count with two more goals. She now has four on the young season, along with a couple assists.
“Things just started falling into place and we started to find the back of the net,” said Peterson of her team’s second-half scoring explosion. “But we played well in the first, too.”
Esko-Carlton has already beaten Proctor, Cloquet and now Hibbing-Chisholm, outscoring them all 8-1 combined. Their only blemish was a 3-1 loss last Thursday at Class AA soccer power Andover.
“Andover played well; they’re a top team in their section in double-A soccer,” said Peterson of the Huskies. “I was happy with the way we played. We had some chances, we just couldn’t
capitalize.”
Lilly scored Esko-Carlton’s lone goal on a penalty kick.
According to Peterson, Andover scored both of their goals within the first 15 minutes, but after that, things were quite even.
She also mentioned the stellar play of senior goalkeeper Rachel Ofstie, who made roughly a dozen saves against Andover. The netminder also posted her second shutout in four games this fall, blanking the Bluejackets Tuesday.
Perhaps Esko-Carlton’s biggest test is coming this weekend when they travel to 10th state-ranked East Grand Forks for a Friday night clash and an overnight weekend stay out west.
“That should be a good radar to see where we’re at,” Peterson said. “But it’s a fun time for the girls, too. They’ll get to stay the night and check out the campus of the University of North Dakota, too.”
Cloquet still sits with goose egg
Three games. One goal. No wins.
That’s the stat line right now for the Cloquet girls soccer team, as they remain winless early this fall season.
Having played a trio of games thus far, they’ve scored just once – a first-half strike by sophomore forward Maija Doran against Esko-Carlton last week – and have been outscored by their opponents 8-1.
Saturday the Lumberjacks were shut out 2-0 against ninth state-ranked Academy of Holy Angels in Cloquet. The Stars’ Bridget Schoffman broke a scoreless tie in the second half when she scored in the 44th minute, while Shannon McQuillan netted a dagger just three minutes later in the 47th minute to put things away.
Yet, in an interview last week, Cloquet Coach Dustin Randall remained confident in his girls, their chances to make a run and knows nobody will want to play them at the end of the year.
Remember, it’s still early September. Wait until mid-October.
History says the Lumberjacks will be at their best.
More from around the web
RSS Feeds