The Pirates are off to an 0-4 start to their season after a 6-0 loss to East Grand Forks Tuesday in Crookston. However, there was much to be positive about after the loss to the 3-0 Green Wave, who went 22-1 last season with an appearance in the state tournament.
"We looked every bit as good as them," said Pirate Head Coach Sarah Reese about her team's play in the first half. "I have high expectations for how our team can play on the field (and high expectations of them off the field as well) and that first half proved that we can play at that caliber. We came out and played hard and we worked really hard and that will set the bar for what I expect from them the rest of the year. We worked together, we were there for each other, moved the ball well. It was a fun first half to watch."
The first half was physical, fast, back and forth, and scoreless until Marina Galstad put East Grand Forks on the board with about 12 minutes left in the first half. Jaclyn Scanlan added a second goal at the 38:04 mark of the half to give East Grand Forks a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
East Grand Forks tallied four goals in the second half. Teresa Adamson at the 50:15 mark, Scanlan at the 61:14 mark, Dani Pickard at the 65:48 mark and Leah Black at the 76:04 mark.
"The goal at the 61 min mark--we weren’t marking in the center and Jaclyn [Scanlan] came right through the center for an easy six-yard goal," said Coach Reese. "Other than that, we contended most of the goals--pressure and being physical."
In the end, it was East Grand Forks' depth that was the difference.
"They rotated a lot of players through (most times 6-8 girls at a time) and have a lot of skillful players," said Reese. "We had the same 11 or 12 players most of the game and I was impressed with our players. Jessica Broekmeier, playing in the back sweeper position, was a rock star for us and did fabulous back there. I thought defensively we did pretty well for most of the game. They [EGF] had a few really nice goals and a few lucky ones and we should have taken a few more shooting opportunities to put us in a better place."
Sydney Luckow recorded 22 saves in net for the Pirates, 11 saves in each half. Chelsey Grassel saved five shots in net for the Green Wave.
In the junior varsity game, East Grand Forks won 3-0.
Crookston will get a much needed break after playing four games in six days. It will host Bemidji Thursday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.
