On the first day of fall, the Clintonville Boys Soccer team came out of their first half funk, and defeated visiting Mosinee 3-1.
The Truckers played a totally lackluster first half; getting only two legitimate shots on the Mosinee keeper. Fortunately for Clintonville, senior Stephen Davies took a pass from Juan Hernandez, and his blast found the back of the net with only seven minutes left in the half. Clintonville continued to have trouble on their own half of the field, and Mosinee knotted the match with a goal in the last minute of the first half.
After the half-time break, Clintonville seemed to play with a purpose, and began to control the middle of the pitch. Midfielders Dominic Masiarchin, John Schultz, and Cody Hansen kept Mosinee in their defensive half of the field. At the 28 minute mark of the second half, Davies scored his second goal of the contest; and gave the Truckers a 2-1 lead. With eight minutes left to play, Hernandez found Masiarchin with a well-placed lead pass, and the junior midfielder pushed the score to 3-1. Tuesday evening’s victory pushed the Truckers’ season record to 7 -3 -1.
“This team has yet to put together two halves of soccer,” said Coach Roger Lupien. “Our halfbacks, Ehrich George and Connor Gehrke, and goalie Nick Jaecks kept us in the game. Mosinee clearly outplayed us in the first period. We finally woke up in the second half; and kept steady pressure on the Mosinee defenders and goalie. After suffering a concussion last week, Steven Davies showed why he is one of our real leaders, as well as a big-time scorer. And Juan Hernandez is just beginning to realize how important his ball-distribution skills are to the team’s success. I just hope that we can get ourselves in gear a little earlier in the upcoming games.”
Despite standing water on half of the Clintonville Soccer field, and continuous wind and rain, last Thursday’s Parents’ Night for the Truckers was all sunshine and balloons. After a pre-game ceremony acknowledging the players and their families, the Clintonville squad was all business as it defeated conference rival Berlin, 6-1. The Truckers got on the scoreboard at the 7 minute mark, when midfielder Dominic Masiarchin’s pass found forward Steven Davies and Davies knocked in his 12th goal of the season. Eight minutes later, Masiarchin connected with forward Juan Hernandez and Hernandez pushed the score to 2-0 with his 10th goal of the season. Berlin got on the board with a direct kick from 25 yards out, but Davies answered with his second goal of the game; leaving the Truckers with a 3-1 half-time lead. Cody Hansen kept things rolling for Clintonville in the second half. The midfielder took a beautiful crossing pass from linemate Branden Andersen, and scored his first goal of the season. Hernandez and Davies each scored in the second half; with Davies recording his second three-goal performance of the season. The victory pushed the Truckers’ conference record to 4-1.
“It’s exciting to watch this team improve with every game. We played aggressively in the first half; and that is something we’ve been lacking in many of our games. Even with the miserable conditions, everyone was ready to play; and play fast. I continue to be impressed with the unselfish play of our upper classmen. Their efforts are really making a difference,” commented Lupien.