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Published September 23, 2011, 03:25 PM

Hilltoppers trip up CEC

Second-half surge leads Marshall School past Lumberjacks 3-1

By: Tyler Korby, Pine Journal

  • Scheuer
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    Cloquet-Esko-Carlton's John Scheuer battles for possession against Marshall School's Anthony Cotter Thursday evening in Duluth. The Hilltoppers used a second-half surge featuring two goals to break away from a halftime tie and defeat the Lake Superior Conference rival Lumberjacks 3-1. (Dave Harwig/Pine Journal) View more photos online at www.viewthroughmylens.net

Netting goals, playing defense and steamrolling through their schedule, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer was winning all sorts of ways.

Then they met Marshall School.

Using a second-half surge featuring a pair of strikes, the host Hilltoppers broke away from a 1-1 halftime tie to defeat the hot-streaking Lumberjacks 3-1 in a Lake Superior Conference engagement Thursday evening in Duluth.

Adding to Nick Sengbush’s first-half tally, Marshall’s Matthew Klassen and John Fox buried goals less than seven minutes apart in the second frame to allow the Hilltoppers to pull away.

According to CEC head coach Archie Clark, his defense simply folded.

“I don’t know if we were tired or what, but we didn’t play well in the second half,” Clark said afterward. “We kind of had a couple breakdowns that hurt us.

“But I have to give Marshall credit, they outplayed us,” he added.

The perennial conference power Hilltoppers (6-2-1) won their fourth straight contest Thursday, now unbeaten now in their past seven contests. Having not lost since August, Marshall snapped CEC’s previous four-game winning streak in the process.

The Lumberjacks (8-2-1) only scored on senior midfielder Derek Anderson’s 35th minute penalty kick, after fellow senior midfielder Sam Longseth was tackled illegally in the 18-yard box while possessing the ball in the first half.

Besides that, Clark said Marshall controlled the ball 75-percent of the way.

“I think we were ready,” Clark said, “but if we want to get to the next level, we have to beat the Marshall’s and the Hermantown’s of the world. And we didn’t do that. But we’ll get another crack at it Saturday.”

Yes they will. In a marquee rematch against the only other squad to defeat them this fall, CEC will next take to the pitch with fifth state-ranked and unbeaten Hermantown (8-0) on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Bromberg Field in Cloquet.

Maybe then the Lumberjacks will find their winning ways again. Maybe.

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