LSC Jamboree Results

 

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!!!

Week Schedule July 26-31

We have some important practices coming up next week.  Our last open gym will be Sunday, July 26 and then we have contact practices on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  The following two weeks will be conditioning, a great way to get in shape before the season starts.  And then the first OFFICIAL practice is Monday, August 17!

Here is the schedule for this coming week:

Sunday, July 26 - open gym - 8pm-9:30pm

Monday, July 27 - contact practice - 5pm-8pm

Tuesday, July 28 - contact practice - 6pm-9pm

Thursday, July 30 - contact practice - 5pm-8pm

Friday, July 31 - contact practice - 5pm-8pm

All of the above will be at the main soccer complex at NBC Spartans Sports Complex.

Important Upcoming Dates

 All boys interested in playing soccer at Superior High School for the 2026 season should be aware of the following dates:

Open Gyms - July 12, July 19, July 26 (8pm-9:30pm at the complex)

Contact Practices - July 27-July 31 (5pm-8pm at the complex)

Conditioning - August 3-7 and August 10-14 (times TBD)

First Day of Tryouts - Monday, August 17

Please remember to get registered with the athletics office at the high school and make sure you have a sports physical on file.  Typically, they are good for two years.  If you are not sure, contact Nicole in the AD office.

Any other questions, contact Coach Berti or Coach Bush.

June Open Gyms

We are one month from our first contact practices!  Those will be the last week in July.  But for June we still have open gyms every Sunday night from 8pm-9:30pm at the main complex.  Join us:

June 7

June 14

June 21

June 28

May Open Gyms

 

Here is our schedule for open gyms in the month of May:

Sunday, May 3 - JV scrimmage with SSA U15 at 7:00pm, open gym to follow at 8:00pm-9:30pm

Sunday, May 10 - Open Gym 8:00pm-9:30pm

Sunday, May 17 - Open Gym 8:00pm-9:30pm

Sunday, May 24 - Open Gym 8:00pm-9:30pm

Sunday, May 31 - Open Gym 8:00pm-9:30pm

All of these will be at the main turf field at NBC Spartans Sports Complex.

Open Gyms in April

As we continue to press forward from winter to spring, here are the current dates and times for open gym in April:

April 12 - 7:00pm-8:30pm in the AUX gym

April 19 - 7:00pm-8:30pm in the AUX gym

April 26 - our hope is to be outside!  Time and location to be determined.

We will continue to keep you posted and as we get into May we will strive to be outside at the complex and most likely on Sunday evenings.

HISTORY - Was 2009 our worst season ever?

 

Last season (2025) was one of the most successful seasons in the history of Spartan soccer.  It brings up the debate, what was our best season ever?  Winning conference for the first time in 2001, our first playoff victory in 2005, 15 wins and hosting our first playoff game in 2022?  Several options to argue...but what about our worst season?  No one wants to remember that!  

There have been some bad ones.  Only 2 wins in 2008, losing 10-0 in the playoffs of 2003/2012/2013, and the list goes on.  But if you look at the season record only, our worst season was 2009.  The team finished with a record of 1-20-1.  That's right.  One win, twenty losses, one tie.  OUCH!

The head coach of the 2009 Spartans was our very own Coach Bush, currently our JV coach.  Bush began his first stint in our program as the JV coach in 2007.  After two seasons with our JV, Bush took over the varsity from 2009-2011.

The 2009 team had a lot of potential and some very solid players.  The biggest issue became goals given up in the first and last five minutes of the half.  Many of the games were decided on goals given up during this key time frame.  There were some close games, including two overtime affairs.  This was during an era when regular season high school games had a 10 minute overtime period.  The Spartans tied Hibbing at home 0-0 after having a free-kick goal overturned.  And a devastating loss at Two Harbors ended 2-1 in overtime.  

The highlight of the season came in the very last game of the regular season.  The Spartans went down to Chippewa Falls for a quad and were still seeking their first win.  The final game was against Rhinelander, a team ranked higher than Superior.  But the Spartans dominated from start to finish, finally securing that elusive first win with a 4-1 victory.  They may have been the worst team we ever fielded, but they made us proud that day!  Pictured above is one of the team captains that year, Kyle Ilenda (Class of 2010).  Ilenda was the starting goalkeeper that season, but also played on the field when necessary.  Kyle and fellow captain, Kevin Olson (2010), each scored two goals in the lone win of 2009.

Every once in awhile we will take some time to look back on the past history of boys soccer at Superior High School.  If you or someone you know played for the Spartans and has a story or pictures to share, let us know!