On Friday afternoon the Spartans visited the Hilltoppers of Marshall School Duluth. It was a fierce battle of two LSC conference opponents and the season standings were on the line. The teams battled back and forth evenly through most of the first half. Superior struck first in the closing moments of the opening half when junior Chase Danielson sent in a corner kick that was deposited into the goal by sophomore Marc Pagnucci. The Spartans led 1-0 at the half and had all the momentum.
Oh how things can change so quickly. In the opening minutes of the second half, things got out of hand fast. A Marshall player broke for the goal and freshman goalie Keagan Shannon came out to make the save as a collision ensued. The referee showed a yellow card to the keeper and awarded a penalty shot to the Hilltoppers. Unfortunately for Superior, the rules state that a player must be removed from the game if issued a yellow card. Even worse, junior goalie Brady Bachand was filling in at goal for the JV team at the same time due to injuries. Oddly enough, it was junior Spencer Kidd filling in as the goalie for the penalty that was converted by Marshall. The momentum had officially been shifted. And the Hilltoppers weren't done.
Shannon was able to substitute back onto the field in goal, but Marshall struck again to take a 2-1 lead just minutes later. In one of the most frustrating sequences the Spartans had ever faced, they now were challenged with responding to adversity and making a comeback for the ages. And about 20 minutes later Superior took the game back as Spencer Kidd scored on an assist from Marc Pagnucci. The game was tied 2-2, but the Spartans were not done!
A few minutes later, Superior found the back of the net - only to be denied by the referees with an offsides call! The Spartans kept fighting. It was the second goal they scored that was called back. The energy and physicality of the game intensified as both teams pushed for the winning goal. And with just over five minutes left, Pagnucci sent a perfect ball floating through the air into the goal area where Kidd one-timed it in for a beautiful goal. 3-2 Spartans lead and five minutes to victory. Superior held off the Marshall attack to secure the huge victory and move the Spartans into first place in the Lake Superior Conference. Superior now stands at 6-2-1 and 4-1-1 in the LSC. Pagnucci and Shannon were chosen by the captains as the men of the match!
The JV team also won to improve their record to 7-2-3 on the season. Senior Ryan Pettingill scored the lone goal and junior Brady Bachand had the shutout in goal. Both teams return to action at home on Monday night against Proctor. JV at 5pm and varsity at 7pm. All children and students wearing a jersey will get in FREE for "Youth Night." Congrats to the boys on a great result as homecoming week comes to a close. Let's go Spartans!!!
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