Superior takes two at River Falls

 

On Thursday afternoon the Spartans headed down the road for a matchup with the Wildcats of River Falls.  The 7:00pm kickoff was delayed due to some freshman football, but once the game got started it was a warm and beautiful night for soccer.  Superior dominated possession and had several shots in the opening minutes.  It seemed like a matter of time before a breakthrough would come.  Finally, in the 17th minute it was the Pagnucci brother connection that struck first.  Junior captain Marc Pagnucci sent a wonderful pass ahead to senior captain Aiden Pagnucci, who neatly deposited the right-footed shot inside the goalie at the near post for a 1-0 lead.  Things seemed inevitable that this would be a dominant Spartan performance.  However, the Wildcats had other ideas.  Throughout the first half, Superior moved the ball and created opportunities and multiple corners, but to no avail.  The finishes just weren't there and by halftime the score remained 1-0.

The second half was more of the same.  Frustration set in as more and more clear chances were either missed or knocked away by the defense and the River Falls keeper.  Most of the possession and opportunities came for Superior, but nothing was going in.  As the minutes wound down, a misplayed corner kick led to a goal kick for River Falls.  In the transition of play, a scrum developed between senior captain Spencer Kidd and one of the Wildcats.  Both players were issued red cards and both teams would have to play on with one less player.  That didn't slow down the Spartan attack as just minutes later it was once again Aiden Pagnucci who sealed the game with a lovely left foot inside the box.  River Falls ran out of gas and time, as the final score was 2-0.  Sophomore Keagan Shannon earned the shutout in goal with three saves for Superior.  The Spartans improved to 5-0 on the season and play Spooner next at home on Tuesday night at 5:00pm.

The JV team took the field for the earlier matchup at 5:00pm and they too dominated the possession and created more opportunities.  Six minutes into the game senior Landyn Eiynk set a short pass to sophomore Demion Campbell who scored from inside the box to take the early 1-0 lead.  About twenty five minutes later it was Eiynk once again with an assist, this time to senior Griffin Dallum who finished neatly to raise the lead to 2-0 Spartans.  And that's the way the game would end.  Several players had shots, and even some close calls and almost goals.  But no one could find the back of the net again.  The defense and freshman goalie Liam Perrault held strong in the back and Superior won 2-0.  Perrault finished with seven saves for the shutout.  JV improves to 3-2 on the season and plays Two Harbors next at home on Tuesday night at 7:00pm.