Spartans Take Two in Eau Claire Quad

 

Superior traveled back down to Eau Claire for a quad hosted by the Eau Claire North Huskies.  However, the Spartans' games were on the campus of Eau Claire Memorial and would be against Sparta first, followed by a rematch with the Holmen Vikings that eliminated Superior in last year's WIAA playoffs.

In the opener, it was all Spartans!  Superior came out strong, fast, and finished frequently.  Jumping out to a 5-0 halftime lead.  By the time it was all over, the final score was 8-0 and the game was ended at the 65th minute.  Leading the way for the Spartans was senior captain Spencer Kidd, who tallied three goals and four assists.  Senior captain Chase Danielson added three goals and one assist.  Junior captain Marc Pagnucci joined in on the fun with a goal and an assist.  As did senior Jem Pontillas, with one goal and one assist.  Closing out the point scoring was junior Zack Monaghan with an assist.  Senior Brady Bachand earned the shutout and finished with one save.  With the win, Superior improved to 2-0 on the season and carried positive momentum into the second game of the day.

The Spartans were seeking revenge in the afternoon affair with the Holmen Vikings.  Holmen defeated Superior 2-1 in the first round of playoffs at NBC Spartan Sports Complex last October.  Both teams came out strong and played solid.  It was a competitive matchup from beginning to end.  Superior struck first when sophomore Keagan Shannon struck a beautiful unassisted shot to open up a 1-0 lead.  Unfortunately, the Vikings tied the game before halftime and the teams went into the break deadlocked at 1-1.  The level of play continued and the intensity was rising as both teams fought to find victory.  It was the Spartans who would prevail on this day, as Marc Pagnucci struck again around 70 minutes, this time with the assist going to Chase Danielson.  Superior held on to the final whistle to secure a 2-1 revenge victory.  Brady Bachand was in goal and finished with 11 saves.  The Spartans now stand at 3-0 for the season heading into the first LSC conference game, and first home game, this Tuesday night.

The JV team came into the day with the same schedule as varsity.  In the first matchup with Sparta, JV mirrored the first half dominance of the varsity and led 4-1 at the break.  Freshman Henry Farell scored a penalty kick, assisted on a corner, and scored two additional goals from range for an impressive three goals and one assist in the first half.  Junior Wyatt Wells scored the corner kick on a well-placed header.  Senior Griffin Dallum and sophomore Everett Kliegle each had one assist.  The team played well in the second half, but could score no more goals and held on for a 4-2 win.  Freshman Liam Perrault got the win in goal with six saves.

Unfortunately, the first game momentum didn't carry over for the JV like it did with varsity.  Holmen proved to be a formidable opponent and too much for the Spartan JV to handle.  Several players came away with injuries, and the Vikings scored early and often.  Superior fell with a final score of 6-0.  Perrault was in goal again, and tallied 13 saves.  The Spartans JV is now 1-2 on the season and will play next on Tuesday at home against Hibbing.

September 1st it will be the Hibbing Blue Jackets coming to town for a 4:00pm JV game and a 6:00pm varsity kickoff.  Let's go Spartans!

Spartans open season with road victory at Chippewa Falls

 

On Tuesday night the Spartans took the bus down Highway 53 to visit the Cardinals of Chippewa Falls in their season opener.  It was a beautiful night for soccer, with warm temperatures and a cool breeze.  The game started and both teams took some time to get a feel for the pace.  Chi High showed to be a very physical team but Superior held their ground.  After several minutes of back and forth action, the Cardinals took a break into the box on the far side and a foul was called resulting in a penalty kick opportunity for Chippewa.  Fortunately for the Spartans, the kick sailed over the goal.  After settling in, Superior controlled the possession and had several opportunities but to no avail.  The game stood tied 0-0 at halftime.

In the second half, the tension continued and the play was similar.  Superior had several opportunities but was not able to find the back of the net.  The physicality wore on and eventually the Spartans earned a corner.  It was senior Aiden Pagnucci with an inswinging ball to the near post that was perfectly deflected by senior defender Brady Bachand for his first ever varsity goal!  The blurry picture above was the best we could get of the moment right before the fateful header.

With renewed spirit, the Spartans carried the momentum and about 10 minutes later they struck again.  This time senior Chase Danielson headed forward a pass to Pagnucci who brought the ball back to his favorite left foot and chipped the goalie to the back post.  That beautiful goal gave Superior a 2-0 lead and all they needed to hold strong for the victory.

Sophomore Keagan Shannon earned the shutout in goal with help from the back line of defense that included freshman Christian Smith, sophomore Titus Thompson, junior Mannix James, and the aforementioned goal scoring Bachand!  Superior is 1-0 and takes home an important win against an opponent in our playoff section.  The JV team fell to Chippewa Falls 5-0 earlier in the evening and falls to 0-1 on the season.  Both Spartans squads return to action for a quad on Saturday at Eau Claire Memorial.  Superior will play Sparta at 10am and Holmen at 1pm. 

2026 Season Preview

 

The defending Lake Superior Conference Champions are ready to roll for another season of high school boys soccer in the northland.  The Superior Spartans have gone through open gyms, contact practices, conditioning, a full week of practice, and a pre-season scrimmage with Eau Claire Memorial.  The season starts tonight at Chippewa Falls High School.

This year's program is once again headed up by Coach Otto Berti.  Coach Berti enters his eleventh season at the helm as varsity coach and thirteenth total in the program.  For the third straight year the staff remains the same with Coach Thomas Bush assisting the varsity and heading up the JV, and Coach Evan Ridd as a volunteer assistant specializing in conditioning and goalkeepers.  Coach Bush is entering his tenth year with the program in this his second stint (2007-2011 and 2022-present).  Coach Ridd is now entering his third year with the Spartans.

Superior returns 12 players from last year when we finished 12-4-1 and the #4 seed in the WIAA playoffs as well as the LSC Championship.  This year's captains are seniors Chase Danielson, Spencer Kidd and Aiden Pagnucci, and junior Marc Pagnucci.  Once again Spencer Kidd returns as the leading goal scorer with a total of 70 career goals.  The Pagnucci brothers return with a flashy combo of passing, crossing, and finishing.  Marc comes off last season with 6 goals and Aiden finished last year with 4 goals.  Chase Danielson will be the anchor in the middle of the field running the CAM position.  Another bright spot is the return of both goalies from last year's championship squad with senior Brady Bachand and sophomore Keagan Shannon.  The Spartans bring back 8 returning starters and are looking to repeat as conference champions and take it a step further with a win in the playoffs.

The numbers are a little lower this year, with 33 total players in the program.  Nine seniors, eight juniors, six sophomores and 10 incoming freshman.  But the goal this year remains the same.  REPEAT as LSC champions, host a playoff game, and win!

Good luck to the Spartans!  We hope to see you out on the pitch cheering them on!

Preseason Scrimmage with Eau Claire Memorial

 

On Saturday night the Spartans hosted the Old Abes of Eau Claire Memorial for a pre-season scrimmage at UWS Superior Choice Credit Union Stadium.  Memorial is one of the classiest programs in the state of Wisconsin and for years has consistently been in the top 2 seeds of WIAA Division 1 Section 1.  Superior was in for a challenge, but was up for the task!  The game would be played in four 20-minute quarters.  Eau Claire Memorial was also honoring a former player, Ryder Woodworth, who died 5 years ago in a car accident.  He was a recent Memorial graduate that was committed to playing at UW-Superior.  Both teams, players, coaches, and referees observed a moment of silence in honor of Ryder prior to the opening whistle.

After the first quarter, the score was tied 0-0 as both teams were getting used to things.  Senior Brady Bachand started in net and made a couple early saves.  The Spartans looked solid and competitive against a very strong Memorial side.  If the first 20 minutes were quiet, the next 20 were an explosion of activity and scoring.

Memorial struck first to lead 1-0 at the 22:15 mark.  But the Spartans responded quickly.  At 23:58, junior Marc Pagnucci headed home a corner kick from his brother, senior Aiden Pagnucci to tie the game 1-1.  BUT, the Old Abes were even quicker to respond.  At 24:59 they took the lead back.  Superior showed resolve by earning a free kick just a few moments later.  Marc Pagnucci sent it in and senior Spencer Kidd headed it home to once again tie the game, 2-2!  Memorial fought back again by scoring at the 29:19 mark to take a 3-2 lead into the half.  In a span of 7:04 the teams combined for 5 goals!

While there were a few opportunities, the third quarter produced no scoring for the Spartans.  It was the Old Abes who were able to convert a couple more goals to take a 5-2 lead into the final 20 minutes.  Superior headed into the final period hoping to get on the board again, but Memorial held strong to finish the game with a 5-2 win.  Bachand had 4 saves in the first two periods, while sophomore Keagan Shannon had 5 saves in the last two periods.

The result was tough, but the team played strong and showed spirit against a formidable opponent.  We appreciate Coach David Kite and his staff as well as the players of Eau Claire Memorial.  They were a solid team and played with a high level of sportsmanship.  It was good exposure for the Spartan boys to see what a high class program looks like.  The Old Abes motto this season is "Gentlemen and Warriors."  Good luck to those boys, and maybe we'll see you in the playoffs?!

The Spartans' season opens up at Chippewa Falls on Tuesday.  Last season, Superior defeated Chippewa 3-1 at home.  Eau Claire plays Tuesday night against Holmen, the team that eliminated Superior in last year's WIAA playoffs.  Memorial defeated Holmen 6-0 in the second round.