The Lake Superior Conference pre-season jamboree was held on Saturday, July 25th at Arlington Fields in Duluth. This was the second annual event and included 7 teams from the area. The Spartans were scheduled for three short matches, one right after the other.
In the opening match, Superior faced off with Duluth Marshall. The Hilltoppers struck first with some good passing and the Spartan defense still figuring things out. Marshall made it 2-0 on a mess in front of the goal area. Superior looked sloppy and sluggish. After halftime, Superior played better and even controlled much of the second half possession. Eventually, Aiden Pagnucci drove in a goal on the assist from Spencer Kidd, but that was not enough as Superior fell 2-1.
In the second game, the Spartans met up with the Duluth East Greyhounds. East was a faster team and controlled the possession. However, Superior held strong and played a good match as the day drew longer. Spencer Kidd had a pair of goals, but East proved to be too much as they prevailed 4-2. Zack Monaghan drew a penalty kick for the first Spartan goal from Kidd and had an assist on the second Kidd goal.
In the third and final bout, Superior battled the Proctor Rails and it was a dominant effort from the beginning. The Spartans clearly controlled possession and started the scoring from the get go. Marc Pagnucci had two goals and an assist, Zack Monaghan had a goal and an assist, Oliver Farell and Christian Smith each scored a goal, and Mannix James added an assist. The final score was 5-0. Incoming freshman Liam Perrault had the shutout in goal.
Overall it was a good day to get back out on the pitch and see some competition. We have a lot of work to do, but we are very excited to get the new season going. Contact practices start this week, followed by two weeks of conditioning. Then we have official practices starting August 17th and our first game at Chippewa Falls on August 25th. Let's go Spartans!!!
