Cloquet girls kick into high gear

Over the past few years the Cloquet-Carlton girls soccer team featured a two-headed offensive threat: Kendra Kelley and Kiana Bender. With Kelley's graduation - she led the area in scoring the past three years - many folks may have thought that the bulk of scoring would need to come from super senior Kiana Bender, but that is not the case, as the 'Jacks have rolled to a mid-season record of 10-2.

"We are much more balanced in scoring this year than in the past," said coach Dustin Randall. "Teams are still trying to take away Kiana, but we have other options that open up. It's been very good for us."

Going into last weekend, Bender was the area's leading scorer and continues to be one of the top players in the area, but this year the 'Jacks have surprised with some talented athletes whose names might not yet be familiar to those not close to the program. Sophomore Katie Turner turned heads last week when she pumped in six of the 17 goals Cloquet-Carlton scored in their 6-0 win over Duluth Denfeld and their 11-0 win over Hibbing-Chisholm.

Up front, the Lumberjacks have also seen solid offensive play from players such as freshman Alexa Snesrud, senior Hannah Biebl and junior Natalie Hoffman, who join Bender and Turner in the top 13 in scoring in the area.

Despite the strong offensive firepower, opponents of the Lumberjacks have to also be concerned with their back line on defense.

"I really like our back line," Randall said. "They have been doing a very good job of keeping away scoring chances in our end, and Gracie (Meagher) has been very sharp this year, which is a positive thing for this team."

Goalkeeper Meagher gave up no goals last week, then one goal over the weekend in a loss to highly touted Henry-Sibley Saturday and no goals in a 5-0 shutout on Monday over Two Harbors. Going into last weekend's game with Sibley, Meagher had the top saves-percentage of any goalie in the area at .893, and a goals-against average of just .43, which is No. 2 for area goalies.

"The loss on Saturday was a frustrating game for us," Randall said. "We made one uncharacteristic mistake and that cost us a goal, and Sibley did a very good job on defending us. We will take it as a positive, and a reminder that we have to earn everything we get and that wins are not just handed out."

In Monday's win over Two Harbors, Bender scored the only goal of the first half, giving the 'Jacks a 1-0 lead. The second half saw goals by sophomore Sadie Senich, junior Brenna Mattson, Snesrud and Turner.

"I thought we played a little slow against Two Harbors, but we had a fantastic second half," Randall said. "I am looking for much better ball movement in our next game."

On Tuesday, the 'Jacks pounded Grand Rapids by scoring all six goals in the first half. Turner scored on an assist from Bender five minutes in. Twelve minutes later Bender scored a goal to make it 2-0 with the assist to senior midfielder Jaxie Pogorelc. In the 28th minute, it was Snesrud making the score 3-0 with the assist to Jillian McCullough. Just a minute later, sophomore forward Dana Jones pushed the score to 4-0 on an assist by Biebl. In the 34th minute, Natalie Hoffman scored on an assist from Turner to push the lead to 5-0 and then Hoffman added another goal in the 40th minute with junior Brooklyn Simmonds assisting to end the scoring.

The 'Jacks pumped 25 shots on Thunderhawk goalie Makenzie Cole who finished with 19 saves, while Meagher faced just one shot in the shutout.

Cloquet hosts Hermantown Saturday at 3 p.m.