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A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
It was handshakes and hugs as the CEC soccer team season ended with a loss to Hermantown Saturday in the section quarterfinal.
Teammates comfort teammates after the disappointing loss. Cloquet controlled much of the game, but struggled to score and Hermantown did.
Junior Logan Dushkin takes the ball from a Hermantown player.
Senior Caleb Swanson wins the fight for the ball.
After upsetting Legacy Christian Academy last Thursday in Andover, the Lumberjacks boys soccer season came to a cold end with a 2-0 Section 7A playoff loss to Hermantown on a wet, rainy, and windy Saturday afternoon.
It was CEC's third loss to the top-seeded Hawks. Like every other time the rivals faced each other this year, it was a close and fiercely competitive game.
The 'Jacks did snap their recent round of bad luck in the first round against Legacy Christian. Entering the 7A tournament, CEC was the ninth seed and had to travel to Andover to face the No. 8 Lions.
"We have been playing very good down the stretch," head coach Dave Bergan said, adding that the team took a while to get used to new systems but was looking good heading into playoffs. "I knew we were going to give the Legacy everything we had and more."
Junior Drake Schramm scored twice in the second half to pace Cloquet-Esko- Carlton to the 3-1 victory. Caleb Swenson added a second-half goal. Schramm set up Swenson, who found the back of the net. Ryan Tomsche added two assists in the victory, both on the Schramm goals.
The win moved the Lumberjacks into the section quarterfinals Saturday, a game that was moved to the turf at Public Schools Stadium in West Duluth because of the wintery weather. With momentum riding high, the 'Jacks were hoping to upset the Hawks and move into the semifinals.
"We lost twice during the regular season to Hermantown both times by one goal, and I think we had the chance to pull the upset," Bergan said after the game. "We outshot them Saturday, but their goalie came up big and made the saves when they needed them most."
Much like the match against Legacy, the match was all nil at halftime. It remained that way until Hermantown's Evan Bjorlin scored in the 63rd minute with an assist by Cole Antcliff.
The Lumberjacks continued to fire away at the Hermantown goal, but each time Zach Carlson would make the needed save or the ball would sail past the net.
The Hawks took a two-goal advantage in the 76th minute when Matthew Joki scored on a free kick. That's how the match ended, with Hermantown advancing to the section semifinals Tuesday, where the Hawks were dropped by Duluth Denfeld.
Senior goalie Alex Munoz finished with four saves for the Lumberjacks Saturday. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton finished the season with an overall record of 8-9-1 for first-year coach Bergan. "We graduate five seniors this year, but we have a huge junior class and great numbers in the program so Lumberjack soccer should thrive and only get better," he said.
