Cloquet state-bound as Jacks down Eskomos 2-1 for 7A title
Published: October 23, 2009 8:38:49 AM CDT
DULUTH, Minn. — A year ago in the section championship, Cloquet’s Jessie Ryan hit the post during a shootout that the Lumberjacks eventually lost, putting them just short of the state tournament.Ryan was back in the finals Thursday, only this time, she found the net.
With the score tied at the 61st minute, the junior midfielder buried the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Section 7A girls soccer championship win over arch rival Esko-Carlton at Public Schools Stadium to send the ‘Jacks to state.
“I had scoring on my mind the whole time,” said Ryan, who took the ball 70 yards downfield and scored unassisted. “I just focused on getting the ball in the back of the net and the next thing I knew, it was in.”
Right then, first-year head coach Dustin Randall was all smiles.
“Jessie’s dominant and she showed it tonight,” he said about his go-to playmaker. “She really is something special and a lot of fun to watch on the field.”
“The girls came out and took care of business,” added Randall after the game. “We’re not quite ready for winter sports yet around here. This group expects to keep playing soccer for awhile and feels they can compete against anyone.”
Senior midfielder Lena Swander got Cloquet (18-3-1) on the board first, as she netted a goal over the reach of Eskomos’ senior goalkeeper Emily Johnson in the 30th minute. The deep left-side goal assisted by senior forward Courtney Esse was the only mark put up in the first 40 minutes, as the ‘Jacks took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
After the break, Esko-Carlton (14-5-2) answered back as senior midfielder Kate Marquis struck from the right side off of a header from senior forward Amanda Bergstedt in the 57th minute. Bergstedt’s Northland-leading 52nd point of the fall and Marquis’ third point in as many days tied the game at 1-1.
Four minutes later, Ryan broke the Eskomos’ hearts - ending their season with one kick.
“It was a really good game where both teams played well and gave it their all,” said Esko-Carlton head coach Nicki Peterson. “Cloquet just happened to get an extra one past us tonight.”
Getting goals past their opponents isn’t something unusual for the ‘Jacks, as they have at least five players with over 10 goals this fall to lead their offensive attack – something that was a little too much to contain for the Eskomos Thursday.
“Cloquet was quick in transition and we just couldn’t handle it,” Peterson said about the team that has ousted them from the playoffs two years in a row now. “They moved the ball well, played hard and were just a tough team tonight.”
The ‘Jacks’ fast-paced transition game kept the ball on the Eskomos’ side most of the first half and a good chunk of the second as they outshot Esko-Carlton 12-5. Cloquet also got the ball out of their zone quickly and prevented many shots from getting close to junior netminder Kaitrin Rathe.
“The defense was solid and the offense played their tails off,” said Rathe, who stopped four balls and allowed just the single goal to Marquis. “We just go game-by-game and tonight, we knew we could win.”
That’s something the girls in purple didn’t do a year ago.
“Losing last year was tough,” Ryan said about their 2-1 shootout defeat to Hermantown in the championship. “But we knew it wasn’t going to happen again. We wanted this one from the start.”
“It truly is tough to put into words,” added Rathe, who along with many of her teammates, played alongside a number of Eskomos throughout the years in summer leagues. “This win feels so good and we’re all really excited.”
Swander agreed.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment all year,” said Swander, who will be participating in her third state tournament next week. “We prepared ourselves well and proved how good we are tonight. Every year it feels better and better to gown down to state.”
“We played with a lot of heart and class,” said Peterson about her Eskomos, who shared tears and hugs with their good cross-town friends from Cloquet during the medal ceremony afterwards. “We have no regrets at all. We played as hard as we could, but in the end, the win went to Cloquet.”
The emotional victory broke a 1-1 series tie between both rival clubs this fall, but more importantly marked the sixth state tournament qualified for by Cloquet. After Thursday, the ‘Jacks have now advanced to state six times within the last decade, including runs from 2001-’03 and ’06-’07.
The streaking ‘Jacks – who has won 15 of their last 16 games – will now wait for other sections to wrap up to see who they will clash with next Wednesday, Oct. 28. If they’re ranked within the top four Class A teams at Sunday’s banquet, Cloquet will host their first round opponent; if not, they’ll be placed randomly in the bracket and sent on the road.
“This could have been the last game for this senior bunch, but it wasn’t,” said Randall about his crew that has been guided all 10 seniors this fall. “They’ve worked hard all year and really deserved this.”
“Tonight was like a dream,” smiled Ryan. “I’ll never forget it.”
